All I Want For Christmas
by Kryzanna
Summary: Naruto loves Christmas, and the holiday season can only improve when his old best friend returns home after 5 years of no contact. With everyone working together again, it'll be just like old times -except that Sasuke's all out of Christmas spirit. With Naruto out to prove how magical Christmas really is, will Sasuke be glad he came home this year? Contains yaoi and lemons
1. Chapter 1

**I love Christmas. There, I said it. And I've ****_really_**** wanted to write a Christmas fic. And now that Christmas is nearly upon us, I thought that it was about time that I wrote one! I'll try so very hard to have it finished before the day itself, so read on and enjoy the knowledge that my updates shall be coming! (Reviews are still much appreciated though!) **

**Warning: Will contain YAOI and the odd LEMON**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

It was the time of year that Naruto Uzumaki loved. The time of the year with snowfall and sleigh-bells; the time when everything smelt like pine and holly; when the world was full of singing and cheer –and everything was covered in tinsel and glitter. Everything. Everyone was in high spirits; the excitement of giving and receiving in the air –with plans for gifts and food and holiday traditions occupying every free thought. There were costumes and candy, and photographs, and family and friends coming together…He wasn't religious, but he loved it.

Life didn't get much better than Christmas.

"Say 'Merry Christmas'!" Naruto grinned; waving at the camera set in front of him. A little girl with her front teeth missing just beamed shyly; mimicking his wave as the camera flashed twice. She giggled and lifted her arms up for Naruto to sweep her up into the air and carry her back to her very stressed out mother. The girl tugged on his green hat shyly and giggled when it came down over his bright blue eyes.

"Merry Christmas!" he said to her brightly; placing a candy-cane in her chubby little hand as her mother gratefully received the photos from the photographer; Itachi Uchiha. The raven-haired man had his long hair tied at the nape of his neck and was wearing a bright red dress shirt –obviously to show that he was being 'Christmassy' -though he'd drawn the line at a Santa hat; and god forbid someone try and get him into an elf outfit.

As Naruto grinned at Itachi, the next little kid was already in line; arms raised to be picked up like he'd seen the girl before him get treated.

"Up you come!" Naruto chuckled; balancing the little boy on his hip as he headed up to the stairs where Santa was sitting on his big, comfy chair; red suit and all. "What's your name, little man?"

"K-Konohamaru!" the little boy replied excitedly.

"Nice to meet you," Naruto grinned, "I'm Naruto. What're you going to ask Santa for this year?"

"Secret," the boy informed him very seriously as he was placed in Santa's lap. Naruto looked across Choji's head to see one of his fellow elves standing out of sight of the line; tugging at his tights and looking thoroughly pissed off.

" –What's the matter, Deidara?" he inquired curiously. Deidara just glared at his crossly and tugged on his green tunic and red tunic; the same one that Naruto was currently wearing with red stockings and little green elf-boots. Their costumes were completed with green, belled Santa-hats and red cuffs for their wrists.

"This _job_ is the matter, yeah," the long-haired blonde man retorted in a low tone. "Ugh…why does Itachi manage to rope me into this every damn year?"

"Come on, get into the Christmas spirit!" Naruto laughed; thoroughly amused by the same routine that Deidara pulled every year; he apparently hated being a Christmas elf. Unfortunately he was a crowd favourite, for some reason. "…At least this year you got a guy's costume?" He clamped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing at the female elf costume he'd had to wear the year previous; dress and stockings and all. And he'd looked fabulous -much to his disgust.

"Shut up, yeah," Deidara sniffed, folding his arms, "Where's Ino anyway? Isn't she meant to be here, yeah?"

"Probably over with Sakura doing gift-wrapping," Naruto shrugged, "Come on; you can't just hide back here or Fugaku isn't going to pay you." Deidara just made a mutinous, angry noise, and flicked his hair in disapproval. Unfortunately, this just meant that the bell on his hat rang out with the cheerful jingle of a bell, and so ruined the dramatic gesture entirely.

"Something the matter?" Itachi inquired; lowering his camera with a sigh as Naruto led the young Konohamaru back to his grandfather.

"Deidara's being a Grinch," Naruto informed him with a shrug and Itachi rubbed his brow in frustration.

"Of course he is…" Itachi muttered, "Where's Ino?"

" –Probably over doing gift wrapping."

"…Slacking off, more likely," the raven grumbled, "Go find her, would you? And...keep an eye out for Sasuke, while you're at it," he added innocently, "He should be somewhere around here..." Naruto did a double take.

"Sasuke?"

"…You do remember my brother, right?" Itachi commented angelically, "Your best friend from high school? The other handsome devil that lives next door to you? Ring any bells?"

" –He's coming home for Christmas?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief, "And who do you think you're calling handsome? The pair of you are just plain devils!"

"Oh you, flatter me," he chuckled lightly, "Yeah; Sasuke's home this Christmas, and father's making him work here with the rest of us. I'm surprised mother didn't mention it to you. What's it been, five years since you've seen him?"

"Almost," he admitted weakly, before clamping a hand over his mouth, "Oh my god, the last time I saw him, I still had braces!" Itachi just chuckled, waving him away, "Why's he back this year?"

"Mother demanded it," he replied with a short laugh, "He's been away from home too long, and she didn't want him to lose touch with his high school friends. Now go find Ino!"

"Yes sir!" Naruto saluted, quickly grabbing his basket of candy-canes and heading off to the gift-wrapping booth; handing out candy-canes to small children as he did so.

"Deidara!" Itachi hollered innocently, "You have to come help Santa!" Deidara, who had just _known_ that Itachi was going to call on him, just tugged on his tunic one more time with a mutinous growl of, "I hate my life…" before springing out from behind the curtain to come jogging down to greet the line of children and their exhausted parents with what he hoped was a smile and not a grimace.

"Your hair is pretty!" the next little girl in line exclaimed in delight, "Can I touch it!" Deidara shot Itachi a deathly cold look. Itachi just quirked an expectant eyebrow at him and the blonde, with a defeated look in his eyes, stooped and let the little girl pat his head in delight before shyly gripping his tanned hand to be led up to Santa.

"…I swear to God, one day, I'm going to kill you," Deidara hissed at Itachi from between gritted teeth as he passed the smug, raven-haired photographer.

"Just not in front of the kids," Itachi smirked back in much the same fashion before his expression expanded into an overly enthusiastic smile that made Deidara want to punch him. "Now, are you ready to get your picture taken with Santa?"

* * *

The mall was currently packed; panicked parents trying to keep track of their children whilst simultaneously present shopping, grocery shopping and figuring out when on earth they could get their kid a picture with Santa. Here, the Court, where Santa was stationed, served as the merging point for all shoppers –providing an open space for them to catch their breath; huge, store-lined walkways extending out in all directions. Currently, there was a group of carollers on the stage singing some cheerful tune, and the huge Christmas tree that went up every year in the centre of the room was in the process of being decorated.

Naruto scurried along through the crowd; bells chiming cheerfully on his collar and hat. Every so often he would stop to hand out a candy cane to a crying child; only to then be completely swarmed upon by every child in sight. He didn't mind though; if it made them happy, then he was more than willing to oblige.

He'd been doing this for years; since he was sixteen years old. The Uchiha family owned and ran the mall, and since they were old family friends of Naruto's parents –he'd known Itachi and his younger brother, Sasuke literally his whole life –Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the household, had given him a Christmas job.

That had led to several of his friends and Sasuke's also getting the holiday jobs there as Christmas elves and gift-wrappers, and pretty much anything Fugaku needed them for. Even when they'd all graduated, they all came back just for the holiday season –and had been doing so for the last four years. Except for Sasuke.

"Ino! Ino! Ino! Sakura! Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed in delight as he finally managed to approach the gift-wrapping booth without being elbowed in the face by an intensely-stressed mother. "Guess what? Did you hear? Did you hear?"

"What?" Ino and Sakura; two of his old friends –and currently fellow 'Fugaku's little helpers' -looked up at him as though he was crazy.

"Sasuke's coming home this Christmas!" he exclaimed in delight; too excited to even be annoyed at his friend Kiba stealing one of the candy-canes from his basket. Ino and Sakura both squealed in delight; the bells on their hats ringing along with them.

"What's this about Sasuke?" Kiba inquired curiously; sticking the end of the candy-cane in his mouth; leaning heavily on the bench.

"Ew, gross; you're going to get the paper all sticky," Ino scolded, "Yeah; where'd you hear that, Naruto?"

"Itachi just told me!" he informed them, "Pretty cool right!"

"God…I haven't heard from him since he left at the start of our last year of high school!" Sakura sighed dreamily, "I bet he's _gorgeous_ now!" Ino gave an approving murmur of agreement.

" –And even you haven't seen him since he left, right?" Kiba commented conversationally; obviously disregarding Ino's comment about the sticky paper, "Crazy. You guys were like best friends; you'd think he would've made an effort to keep in touch...Will he even recognise you? You used to be a shrimp, and like, didn't you, like have braces back then?"

" –And bad hair," Ino pointed out.

"My hair was _not_ bad," Naruto complained.

" –It was," Sakura and Kiba assured him and he pouted. "Not to mention that awful orange…"

"Okay; moving on from Naruto's embarrassing high school sense of fashion," Ino interrupted, "Why's he coming back? He's missed the last like, four Christmases, so why come back now?"

"Aunt Mikoto made him, apparently," he shrugged, "But really, who cares? It'll be real good to see him again, and he's going to be working with us; it'll be just like old times!" Again, Ino and Sakura squealed in delight.

"I hope he has to wear the elf costume again!" Sakura whispered as Kiba and Naruto rolled their eyes in exasperation. Sure, the two women were studying to be doctors at college…and it'd been four years since they'd seen the guy…but even now, the very mention of Sasuke Uchiha could set them off.

" –I bet that's why he left," Kiba chuckled; tugging at his own elf costume, "These are humiliating." Naruto just shrugged, grabbing a piece of tinsel from nearby and wrapping it around him as a fashionable scarf.

"I think I rock it," he sniffed. "Ino, by the way, Itachi thinks you're slacking off."

" –Which she completely is," Sakura assured him with a glare at her best friend; who was leaning on the bench rather casually and not even getting involved with the serious gift-wrapping that was taking place further down the line. Ino just waved her away as though it was no big deal.

" –Well…you might want to go help Deidara," Naruto advised sheepishly.

"…You left him alone with Itachi and the kids?" Sakura exclaimed warily, "You _know_ Itachi abuses his power; and Deidara never stands a chance against children!"

"I was too excited…and there was candy…" Naruto rambled, "I messed up; I messed up! On _another_ note; Kiba, wanna come dance with me over by the Christmas tree?"

"Anything is better than wrapping another figurine of a dude from some lame boy-band …" Kiba sighed heavily, grabbing another piece of tinsel and wrapping it around his neck to match Naruto's. "How's about it, ladies? We _fine_, or what?"

"…You're covered in glitter," Ino commented distastefully as she fixed her hair and adjusted her dress to head back over to save Deidara from the hordes of children. Kiba groaned in annoyance as he shook his length of tinsel and discovered that he was now coated from the neck down in sparkles. Sakura and Naruto both laughed openly at him as Kiba forlornly began following Naruto through the crowd towards the stage at the foot of the giant tree. A group of small children were dancing beside the stage; looking up in awe at the beautiful choir-girls.

Kiba grinned up at the girls and waved brightly at one of them; who immediately turned bright red and appeared to forget the lyrics. She was a beautiful creature; long, purple hair and soft, pale eyes –Hinata Hyuuga; Kiba's long-time friend and first love.

"She looks happy to see you," Naruto commented slyly.

" –This is the year, man, I just feel it," Kiba assured him with a grin, "I'll ask her out this year. I definitely will!" With a wink up at the flustered Hinata, he bowed courteously to one of the little girls nearby and spun her around charmingly when she shyly took his hand. Apparently doing twirls was the most exciting thing ever for six year old girls, because instantly, all the children attacked his legs; all wanting to be his next dance partner. Naruto just laughed at Kiba getting overwhelmed, instead of helping him out. He could see that Hinata was eyeing the wild-haired brunette timidly; a cute blush spreading across her cheeks. Why Kiba always put off asking her out, he didn't know –it was obvious that she liked him!

And then Naruto looked up, and instantly realised why Kiba was so terrified of asking her out.

There was a long-haired brunette standing at the top of a rather precariously-balanced ladder; glaring down at Kiba's antics with the same pale eyes as Hinata.

That would be Neji; her overprotective cousin; who Kiba both respected and greatly feared. Through high school, Neji had made it abundantly clear that Kiba wasn't good enough for Hinata, and had done his utmost to make sure that he knew that. Leaving Kiba to the children, Naruto skirted around the tree towards the ladder to discover that there was a bored-looking man leaning there, yawning.

"Yo, Shikamaru!" Naruto greeted with a wave. Shikamaru's eyes flickered open and he actually did a double take as he drank in the sight of his old friend wearing tinsel around his neck. Then he decided that he wasn't surprised. Naruto didn't half-ass Christmas. "Kisame decided not to put you up the ladder this year?" Shikamaru just shrugged with a sigh.

"…You fall asleep up a ladder one time and suddenly no one lets you up one," he commented flatly, and then looked up the ladder to where Neji was still poised halfway through hanging a decoration –eyeing Kiba warily; probably calculating whether he could hit him with the ornament if he threw it.

"Neji's better at arranging the ornaments," Shikamaru informed him, "Plus, it keeps him from tackling Kiba." He just shrugged simply as Kisame; the mall's manager, wandered over and greeted Naruto with a concerned look.

"…Itachi's not making that uniform, I hope?" he commented; genuinely concerned as he looked at the gold tinsel adorning Naruto's neck.

" –Why're you worried; you don't even have to be an elf," Shikamaru reminded him; tugging on the tunic. Somehow, he always managed to misplace his hat, so Itachi had given up on enforcing that part of the uniform for him. Since he and Neji were the helpers always responsible for decorating and helping Kisame out, they got out of wearing the elf boots as well –they were a hazard on the ladders.

"…I just don't think I could handle seeing you all with tinsel scarves…" Kisame replied weakly; shaking his head weakly. "Shikamaru, could you go get more of the gold stars and start getting them ready to hang. They shouldn't be too hard to find in the storeroom –Neji arranged everything by shape and colour."

"Of course he did," Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome. Yeah, I'll be back soon. See you later, Naruto."

" –And don't go to sleep in the manger again," Kisame hollered at him; just getting a dismissive wave in response. "You're too big for it now!" Kisame just sighed in exasperation. "I swear, you kids get harder to boss around every year."

"We are adults, _thank you_," Naruto sniffed, though it didn't come across very 'adult' since his bell had decided to rattle flamboyantly. Kisame sniggered at him and looked up to see that Neji was descending the ladder, trying to tug his tunic to best preserve his modesty.

"Why can't we wear pants…" Neji sighed coldly, as he reached the bottom rungs and dismounted elegantly.

"…You could always ditch the tunic and just go for the tights," Kisame reminded him in amusement. Neji just glared at him darkly and looked up at the tree to survey his handiwork. It was perfect so far; he really had an eye for detail…if he did say so himself. "…You're lucky no one's noticed that you cut the bells off your uniform."

"…This _costume_ makes me look female," he sniffed back, "I don't need to be sounding like a fairy as well."

"Are you still sore about the year we dared you to wear your hair in a plait to work and told everyone you were actually Hanabi; because that was hilarious," Naruto admitted in a snigger; earning a glare from the Hyuuga, "Oh come on, Neji; chill out; it's Christmas! Tis the season to be jolly, and all that!"

"Five people today have called me "Miss"," Neji informed him dryly, "…I see no reason to be jolly about being mistaken for a woman, when I am a man."

" –Well…in any case…you're a very pretty woman," Naruto replied with another laugh. Neji deadpanned.

"…Like you can talk, Tinseltoes."

"…Hey guys…" a dry voice commented from behind them, and the three of them turned and promptly had to bite their lips to keep from laughing; even Kisame, who was a good ten years older than them. Then, even the stoic Neji had to break out into chuckles as Naruto couldn't contain himself and laughed his head off.

"Guys…guys stop. Stop…it's not funny…" Gaara commented flatly; his eyes clearly reflecting his current 'fuck my life' mentality. This just made Naruto laugh even harder as he wiped away his tears of mirth to once again see that the redhead was standing there in a red shirt, green elf-pants and gold suspenders; completing the look with red hat and elf-boots. The vibrant costume contrasted rather heavily with the 'kill me now' glint of despair in his eyes.

"What…I don't…" Naruto stammered; unable to form proper words, "I –I'm so sorry, Gaara…"

"No you're not," Gaara deadpanned.

"You're right; I'm not," Naruto chortled, "…I _love_ Christmas!"

"Oh…It's not that funny…" he grumbled crossly; adjusting the wicker basket he was carrying. "…Temari made me wear this."

"At least you get to wear pants," Neji managed to cough out; trying desperately not to lose his stern composure. "Wait, did you say 'Temari'?" Gaara nodded flatly.

"She's finally come home this year," he informed them, and then glared mutinously at his outfit, "When Fugaku wanted someone to sell cookies and fruitcakes, she signed us up." He sounded incredibly displeased by this arrangement. "I feel ridiculous."

"On the plus side, you're not willingly wearing it –unlike some people," Kisame nodded pointedly at Naruto.

" –Hey; tinsel is very in this season," he defended, "Get it…coz it's the Christmas…" His friends and boss just rolled their eyes dramatically. "So Temari's finally back? Did anyone tell Shikamaru?" Gaara shook his head silently and Naruto winced, "…You should probably keep an eye on him then," he added to Neji, who just nodded in acknowledgement. Despite so much time having passed…there was no way of knowing what Shikamaru's reaction would be when he found out that Temari was back in town.

"Ugh…there you are, Naruto," Itachi's powerful voice could be heard over the steady chatter of the Court. The raven was stalking over towards him; the crowd parting for him –somehow sensing his intimidating presence and responding appropriately. "I sent you to find Ino…and of course you're over here…oh…hello Kisame."

"Hello, Itachi," Kisame replied politely.

Neji and Naruto exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.

" –Are we done?" Naruto inquired of Itachi suddenly; noticing that the Uchiha didn't have his camera hanging around his neck.

"I'm just taking a break," he replied simply, "I sent Deidara for a timeout; he almost snapped when a kid said she wanted to be as pretty as 'her' when she grew up." Naruto sniggered, and then frowned.

"Then who's taking the –" he suddenly stopped mid-sentence and his eyes widened in excitement.

"He showed up almost as soon as you left –why are you wearing tinsel?"

"…The real question is: why aren't _you_ wearing tinsel?" Naruto sniffed; adjusting his itchy scarf vainly. "He's here?"

"Who's here?" Gaara asked, but that was all Naruto heard before he was off into the crowd again; leaving Kiba to his fate with the children and hoping that Neji would have enough sense to give Shikamaru some warning that his ex-true-love was back after getting up and leaving to college five years ago, with zero contact since.

The line for Santa was finally beginning to diminish –at least for the moment. Ino was the only elf up by Choji at the moment –since Deidara was in 'timeout'. She appeared to be posing a little more than usual.

It only took him a few seconds to identify the photographer –he was dressed all in black, which was really in quite violent contrast to the glitz and colour around him. His dark hair was naturally spiked at the back; just the same as Naruto remembered five years ago. For a moment he stared. Five years was a long time –or at least right now it felt like a long time. What was Sasuke like now? Would he recognise him? How did you greet someone you hadn't seen in that long? He put down his basket and tugged the tinsel from his neck.

In the end, as the child was led back to the line by Ino, he chose to launch himself forwards and wrap his arms around the unsuspecting raven in an excited hug.

"Sasuke!" he exclaimed in excitement; hearing a sound of surprise emerge from the man staggering beneath his weight. A raven head turned to look over his shoulder in annoyance; eyes glaring sharply at whoever had decided that it was a good idea to invade his personal space. Naruto just beamed at him; recognising that same irritated look even after so long and therefore not being at all deterred by the death-look. Sasuke's dark eyes appeared confused for a moment, and then they widened in recognition.

"Naruto?" he queried in surprise.

"You _do_ remember me!" he grinned with a laugh; squeezing him tight and making Sasuke cringe.

"…Let go…moron…" Sasuke snorted crossly; shrugging him off, and Naruto obeyed; sticking out his tongue childishly. "…You got taller."

"I know, right!" Naruto grinned, and then pouted as he noticed that the raven was still a few centimetres taller than him; like he always had been. "Man, it's so good to see you after so long! We've totally gotta catch up later; okay?"

"Whatever," Sasuke snorted disinterestedly and raised the camera, "Well? Get on with it." Naruto frowned slightly at his attitude, but held out a hand to the twin children clinging to their mother's legs nervously.

"Hey there, kids!" he greeted kindly; holding out a hand to each of them. They seemed a little hesitant, so Ino wandered down the stairs and bent down to their level to welcome the little girl into a hug; carrying her up the stairs and bouncing her until she giggled.

"Okay…you kids tell Santa what you want this year," Naruto whispered to them with a grin, "And then we're gonna smile real big for the man with the camera, okay?" He gave them a thumbs up, and the two of them returned the gesture; the crowd letting out an 'aww'. When the kids were finished with their Christmas wish list, they turned to the camera for a photo.

Sasuke wasn't smiling, and that bothered Naruto. Wasn't he glad to see him?

"Sasuke?" he queried with a raised eyebrow; leaving Ino the task of dislodging the little girl perched on her hip to return her to her mother. "What's with the face? Not happy to be home after all this time?"

"…Hn…" came the noncommittal response.

"Come on; smile a bit; it's Christmas!" Naruto beamed; gesturing at his costume to further reiterate this point.

"So?"

"…So?" Naruto legitimately didn't understand the question. "It's _Christmas_? What's not to smile about? Can't you just feel the Christmas spirit of the place –"

"No." Naruto just rolled his eyes. Ice-cold as ever. Typical bastard. He really hadn't changed, had he?

"You could at least try to act like you're Christmassy," he pointed out; gesturing at the kids that were still eagerly waiting in line. "You used to love Christmas! Well…not outwardly but…"

"Things change," Sasuke snorted flatly, "Go and sit with Choji, will you? We have to get these photos done before he finishes his shift."

"Santa," Naruto corrected with a frown, "…You mean 'Santa'."

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, "Just do it, idiot. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be."

"Tch; be an ass then," he sniffed; sticking his nose in the air and refusing to let Sasuke's negativity get him down during his favourite part of the year. Sure, he hadn't expected their reunion to be warm and fuzzy –that just wasn't Sasuke –but this was completely unexpected…

" –Well, you just got back," he shrugged lightly; just to make sure that the Uchiha knew that there was no way that he, Naruto Uzumaki, was going to have his mood dragged down in the Christmas season. Having wondered what his best friend had been doing for the past five years, he was not about to let Sasuke's return ruin his Christmas, "It's understandable that you're not feeling Christmassy yet."

"…Christmas isn't my thing anymore," Sasuke snorted darkly; checking his camera.

" –We'll see about that," Naruto smirked, looking back over his shoulder gleefully, "Don't worry, Sasuke! Even if you've forgotten what Christmas here is about, (since you missed four) I'll make you remember!"

"Tch...Whatever. Just get on and do your job." Naruto just shrugged and set his jaw determinedly. Sasuke was a stubborn bastard at the best of times, and even worse when he was in a bad mood. He just didn't understand how someone who had just come _home_ after five years -come back to his old friends; and _at Christmas_, could be anything but happy. Unless there was something playing on the Uchiha's mind that he didn't know about?

No matter. If there was something, he'd find it out, and he'd make sure to give Sasuke a reason to never miss a Christmas again.

"There's still two weeks until the big day, so I'll be sure to find a way to get you into the Christmas spirit! Believe it!"

* * *

**"Short" introduction done! What's with this weird attitude from Sasuke? What will Christmas be like having him around again? How does Naruto plan on instilling Christmas cheer into his old friend? And will these plans work? **

**Well, he has to try! Christmas is meant to bring people together, isn't it? **

**Look forward to hearing from you! (and looking forward to writing with a Christmas theme!)**

**xx K **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two! I also do make a note in reference to the story image; I'm not an artist, so it's not uhh...top class. I just felt like a SasuNaru Christmas doodle...and they ended up wearing Christmas sweaters. **

**Deck the halls! (And all that jazz)**

* * *

Sasuke was exhausted. It was one thing bouncing through airports; flights constantly getting re-routed because of snowstorms and weather warnings, but for him to arrive home and be shipped off to the mall within ten minutes of being back…well, that was typical of his father, he supposed. Fugaku was firstly and foremost, a businessman, and he knew what the Christmas season was like.

At least Itachi had been merciful enough to let him finish with the photography when Choji hung up his Santa suit at four. Kisame Hoshigaki might be the mall manager, but when Christmas came around, everyone took orders from Itachi; much to Sasuke's disgust.

But now, it was bordering on eight o'clock. It wasn't far home, but Sasuke had decided to get a little bit of shopping in and had therefore been forced to wait for a bus. It wasn't Christmas shopping though; he couldn't be bothered with that sort of nonsense this year. He wasn't back for exchanging pleasantries. Really, he could have happily missed another Christmas, but his mother had demanded that he return for this one, and had _informed_ him that his flights were already booked.

Even Sasuke Uchiha couldn't argue with his mother.

Only having a single suitcase and not fitting any of his old clothes, he'd been forced into buying himself some new things to wear. That; and he'd grudgingly bought his mother some flowers. That was the kind of thing you got the person who gave birth to you, right?

So there he was, kicking at the snow and trying his best not to look as though the shopping bags were burdening him. Someone had actually cleared the front path of snow –maybe Itachi had finally stooped to manual labour –and it was with great relief that he finally shoved open the front door.

…Only to come face-to-face with a familiar blonde.

" –Welcome home, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, "Oh, flowers! For me? You shouldn't have!" Without waiting for a response, he immediately tugged the bouquet from the raven's hands and dramatically clutched his heart as though touched by the gesture.

"Moron! They're not for –" Sasuke snapped; slamming the door behind him; his gradually better mood plummeting sourly once more.

" –Aunt Mikoto! Sasuke bought you some flowers!" Naruto hollered into the big Uchiha house. Sasuke's mother, Mikoto Uchiha, appeared from the living room; wrapping Sasuke in a big hug welcomingly.

"Sasuke; you look exhausted!" she sighed, "I tried to tell your father not to make you work on your first day home, but you know him; wouldn't listen…" Naruto handed her the flowers before brightly sauntering off to the kitchen; an ugly, overly-patterned Christmas sweater hanging loosely off his frame.

"You're very sweet," Mikoto smiled, kissing her son on the forehead gratefully.

"What's he doing here?" Sasuke demanded to know flatly as they headed towards the living room; Sasuke dumping his purchases in the hallway.

"You probably don't remember, do you, Sasuke?" Itachi commented from where he was lounging on the couch in an equally ugly; equally-patterned Christmas sweater that Sasuke recognised immediately as _his_ one. " –Naruto comes over to decorate the tree every Christmas with Aunt Kushina and Uncle Minato." Sasuke remembered. How could he forget?

Every Christmas, for as long as he could remember, and probably before, Naruto and his parents had come over and the three boys had decorated the tree together. At age seven, he and Naruto had been given horrendously ugly, (but warm), semi-matching Christmas sweaters; an Uzumaki spiral on the front of Naruto's and an Uchiha fan on the back; and vice-versa for Sasuke's; and every Christmas, without fail, they'd worn those damned, ugly-ass sweaters while decorating the tree.

He hadn't realised that Naruto had continued the tradition, even in his absence.

"Do you want your sweater, Sasuke?" Itachi inquired curiously.

"No; keep the ugly thing," Sasuke snorted immediately; noting Naruto's crestfallen expression.

"Sasuke Uchiha; be nice," Mikoto scolded as she took a seat on the couch with Minato and Kushina; Naruto's parents. "Come and decorate the tree; we've been running out of reasons for why Naruto wasn't allowed to come over and make a start." Naruto was already at the box of decorations; on his knees and tugging out the gold tinsel. Itachi got off the couch with a sigh and went over to help him. Since Sasuke had been absent for the last four Christmases, it had just been he and Naruto setting up the tree.

"Do I have to?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Yes," Naruto replied firmly, "Sasuke…" he whined, "You haven't been here for ages; you could at least pretend to be happy to be home, you know…"

"Tch," the raven scoffed; rolling his eyes and taking a seat on the couch beside his mother.

" –Why didn't you come back?" Naruto probed; wrapping the tinsel around the tree while Itachi busied himself with the baubles. "I mean…five years is a long time. You could've…called…or something?" He sounded a little hurt, but Sasuke didn't let that guilt him into replying.

"Yes, little brother; do share what was so important that you couldn't make time for your family," Itachi commented lightly; a wicked gleam in his eye that Sasuke didn't quite see. "You probably wouldn't have come back this year if mother didn't force you."

"And me," Kushina chimed in; reaching across Mikoto to tug at Sasuke's cheek affectionately, "I missed my little Sasuke too, you know!" She pulled away and took a good look at him, "…Except you're not so little now, are you? My god you've gotten handsome!"

"My genes, of course," Mikoto remarked with a laugh. " –And of course, Naruto, you're looking more and more like your father every day." Naruto, embarrassed, blushed a little and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Minato just gave his son a proud, kind smile as the blonde continued with the tree.

"I know exactly what we need!" Kushina suddenly clapped excitedly.

" –Aunt Kushina; _no_!" Itachi exclaimed, but she was already on her way over to the elegant bookcase; pulling out a large photo album. Itachi facepalmed in despair and Sasuke instantly became worried about what they were going to show. He quickly excused himself to make some tea, and returned a few minutes later to find both mothers and Naruto hovering over the photo album, with Minato and Itachi deciding to stay well out of it; fetching wood for the fireplace.

"Oh...weren't they just so sweet!" Kushina crooned; hugging Naruto tightly, despite his protests, "Look at the two of you in your Christmas sweaters! I remember how happy you both were to get them…" Sasuke, dread flooding through him, peered over his mother's shoulder and cringed when he identified the seven-year old him sitting with Naruto in his lap; the pair of them beaming brightly at the camera in gigantic Christmas sweaters; both with the Uchiha fan on the front.

"I never could get this one to wear his the right way around…" Kushina scolded; tugging on her son's ear, "He always wanted to be the same as Sasuke, didn't you, Naruto?"

"_Moooom_, you're being embarrassing…" he complained loudly as the two mothers flicked through their Christmas album; pointing out the photo that they took each year; the same photo –Sasuke and Naruto sitting in front of the decorated tree in their sweaters.

"Oh _I know_," Kushina exclaimed suddenly; ignoring Naruto's pleas to put away the photo album. She pulled the book onto her knees and flicked back to the early pages. The two women giggled cutely and Naruto and Sasuke looked away in embarrassment and annoyance.

"Look, look, Naruto! Your first kiss!" Kushina exclaimed; pulling on the Uzumaki swirl on the front of his sweater.

"Mom…"

"Look!" she demanded, and he was forced to turn his blue eyes down to the photo that she was pointing at in delight. He knew exactly which one it was and his assumption was correct.

The picture was taken when he and Sasuke were four years old. They were both sitting on the couch; completely swamped with presents and wrapping paper. The pair of them were holding hands and their lips were pressed together in a shy, childish kiss.

"…Mom! Put it away!" Naruto complained again as Sasuke made a scoffing noise and stalked around to sit back down on the couch. "Quit embarrassing me!"

"But you two were just so cute!" Kushina pointed out, she and Mikoto continuing to pour through the papers in delight.

"Mother; put that thing away," Sasuke snorted darkly, and Mikoto looked over at her son; surprised at his angry tone. With one look at his sullen expression, she exchanged looks with her friend and the pair of them decided not to push him any further.

"…There's no need to be mean…" Naruto frowned, and was even further shocked by the fact that Sasuke, without another word, took his tea and left the room; stalking down the hallway towards his bedroom. Mikoto peered after him; worried.

"…Don't worry, Aunt Mikoto," Naruto assured her kindly, as he resumed decorating the tree; Itachi coming over to help now that the photos were gone. "He's just tired, probably. He wasn't in a very good mood at work, either."

"He used to get so excited about Christmas," Mikoto sighed sadly, "I wonder what's wrong."

"…Indeed…" Itachi remarked mysteriously; an eyebrow quirked inquisitively. "Come on, Naruto; hurry up and help me finish the tree; I don't know why you insist on me wearing this sweater –it's so itchy."

"It's a Christmas tradition," Naruto sniffed; and that was that.

* * *

There was a sharp knock on Sasuke's window and he woke with a start; rubbing his eyes blearily and rolling over; tugging his blankets tightly around himself. His room was cold.

"Sasuke! Wake up!" he heard his name being called. Barely awake and already annoyed, he sat up; violently yanking the curtains open and then wrenching them closed again when he realised that Naruto was waiting outside his window in the fresh snow.

"Sasuke! Get up! You're going to be late for work!" Naruto hollered; rapping on the window again.

"Go away," he snapped flatly; slipping back under his blankets.

"It's almost eight-thirty! The buses aren't running until the grit truck's been round, and we start at nine!" the blonde called out and Sasuke groaned again. Couldn't he catch a break? "Get up you bastard or I'm bringing this snow inside and dumping it on you!" His voice was playful, but Sasuke knew that if Naruto was anything like how he was in high school, this was no idle threat.

And seeing as it seemed that he hadn't changed a bit in five years, he was going to have to get up, lest he seek an icy awakening.

"I'm up!" he snapped irritably; hearing the uncomfortably familiar sound of a snowball being packed. "Jeez; I'm up! Just stay out there!"

"Hurry up," Naruto sighed, "I'll buy you breakfast. Just hurry up! It's freezing out here!"

"…Are you wearing the elf outfit?" Sasuke commented flatly as he searched for something warm to wear. There was a long pause.

"…No…" came the all-too-innocent reply and he groaned in annoyance.

"Morning," Itachi greeted from the kitchen; where he was enjoying a steaming coffee. Sasuke just grunted noncommittally and his elder brother understood to set up a take-away coffee cup for him. Uchihas had an unhealthy dependency on caffeine.

"…Did you put him up to this?" Sasuke snapped, after gulping down a mouthful of coffee and disregarding the fact that it scalded him. Itachi just looked at him questioningly. Sasuke jerked his head in the direction of the front lawn and his big brother actually laughed; a smile crossing his features as he saw Naruto, dressed in full elf attire, crouched down; chatting to a small child and handing them a candy cane.

"Nope," Itachi shrugged, sipping at his coffee, "Sasuke, he's your best friend; he just wants to see you happy. He's missed you, you know –asks about you every time he's back. He even wrote to you."

"So?" Sasuke snorted.

"So…he wouldn't admit, but it made him sad when you didn't write back," his brother frowned, "When you called, you never once asked about _him_. What happened to you guys?"

"Nothing happened," Sasuke sniffed darkly; in a tone that indicated that Itachi really should mind his own business and drop it, "I just didn't care anymore. I had new friends."

"…Naruto wasn't just your friend," Itachi reminded him flatly, "He was your _best _friend. The two of you were pretty much inseparable from birth."

"Whatever you say," his little brother snapped, grabbing his things and heading to the door, "See you at work." Hearing the door slam, Itachi just sighed. Sasuke obviously liked to think that he was a good liar; but Itachi was better, and that meant that he could see through any cover his little brother threw at him.

* * *

"So why exactly did you drag me out of bed?" Sasuke deadpanned crossly as Naruto sheepishly informed him that Choji didn't start work until 12:30 whilst handing over a coffee. "…If I'm not needed until later?"

" –Hey, hey; just because there's no Santa, doesn't mean there are no photos!" he exclaimed cheerfully; adjusting his hat with a bright grin, "I think Kiba brought Akamaru in today, and the kids love getting photos with him. And us _charming_ elves –we're pretty much an attraction ourselves." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to prove his point; Ino posing with a tiny toddler girl balanced on her hip and a little boy sucking his thumb, gripping the fingers of her free hand –apparently overjoyed at getting to talk to a 'real elf'. Sasuke sighed in exasperation, looping his camera around his neck; spying Deidara wandering around with a sandwich board hanging off him; looking like he would rather be doing anything other than this. Sasuke sympathised. Deidara caught his gaze and mouthed 'kill me'. The Uchiha just responded by taking a picture of the unenthusiastic Christmas elf advertising a sale on women's clothing.

Deidara flipped his middle finger at him and mimed hanging himself as Naruto stalked past him, laughing his head off.

Shikamaru yawned as he staggered towards the giant Christmas tree; managing to avoid stumbling over a chain of children trailing after their mother in body harnesses. Who even put harnesses on their children? They weren't dogs. To be fair, all they did was run away, make messes and noise and respond to simple commands, but harnesses?

Anyway, it was nine-thirty. This was an abnormal time for anyone to be at the mall, and yet there were still dozens of people in the Court; likely hundreds swarming through the rest of the complex. He sighed and yawned again; momentarily dumping two huge boxes of bells and tinsel down on the gift-wrap bench. Sakura looked at him in irritation; tape sticking to her face and ribbon strewn everywhere.

"Shikamaru, can you not?" she sighed heavily, "We're really busy."

" –We've been at work an hour," he snorted, "How can you possibly be…"

" –Mother of nine," she retorted flatly and he made an 'oh' noise. "It's a nightmare, and Ino's on 'entertain the children' duty; and Deidara's trying to get people to buy women's clothing…"

"Don't look at me," he snorted; picking up his boxes again, "Did you see where Neji went? I don't know what he wants me to do with this crap…" Sakura pointed; returning to trying to figure out the best way to wrap a soccer ball and a baseball bat together and still make it look pretty.

" –And watch out for Naruto," she advised him, "He found his mistletoe rod."

" –Dammit!" Kiba groaned melodramatically from further down the table; struggling with an awkwardly-shaped clock. "…I thought you hid it from him!"

"I did…but he found it! Don't ask me how," she grumbled, "Just thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Cheers," Shikamaru commented dryly; adjusting the boxes and seeing a flash of Neji from across the room. Keeping an eye carefully trained on the mischievous Naruto, he headed over; the bells jingling merrily with every step.

He was so occupied with trying to make sure that Naruto and his toy were kept at a safe distance, that he accidentally walked directly into someone.

The top box shook precariously; bells rattling in panic as he lurched forwards to catch it.

"…Sorry…" he commented weakly; having only just managed to save the box and prevent bells from spilling absolutely everywhere. He looked up with an expression that he hoped implied 'oops' and his eyes widened as he drank in the face in front of him. The box of bells clattered to the ground.

"Shit…" he muttered; placing the other on the floor and dropping down to start trying to retrieve the scattering bells.

"Typical," a haughty, female voice commented from above him. "Clumsy as ever, aren't we?"

"…Hi…Temari…" he muttered flatly; looking up to see proud, bright eyes looking down at him. "I didn't expect to see you."

"I didn't expect to see you _working_," Temari scoffed; folding her red-gloved hands across her chest, "…If that's what you're calling that…"

"Nice to see you too," Shikamaru commented dryly.

" –You should've been watching where you were going," she sniffed, side-stepping him and pushing some of the bells back to him with the toe of her red shoe.

"I was jingling more than a sleigh; how could you have walked into me?" he muttered; not in the mood for Temari to be pulling some kind of shit like this. She scoffed again, even though he added, "I was making sure Naruto didn't catch me with his mistletoe." Back in the day, that would've been a good enough excuse, but this Temari apparently didn't care.

"Why're you back home?" he inquired flatly; not bothering to look up at her as he laboriously scooped up the bells, "What's it been, five years?"

"Something like that," she shrugged as he managed to drag himself back to his feet with both boxes secure. "You haven't changed."

"Neither have you," he replied dryly.

"Oh believe me, I have," she sniffed haughtily, "I'm going places; high places, Shikamaru. I'm only back for Christmas because Granny Chiyo wanted a family get-together this year."

"How is your gran?" Shikamaru inquired politely.

"That's none of your business," she reminded him, "If you'd forgotten; you're not a part of my life anymore."

"How could I forget?" he snorted back; instantly irritated by her refusal to answer his question. They'd known each other since they were children; her Granny Chiyo had been like a grandmother to him for years –until Temari had made it very clear that she wanted no more to do with him. He hadn't felt right going over to see Chiyo when Temari so very clearly didn't want him around. But that didn't mean he couldn't ask about her.

"What was that?" she sniffed flatly.

"Tch…Troublesome…" he muttered, just stalking past her and not bothering to repeat himself.

"Shikamaru; don't just walk away from me," she growled; hands on hips. "You always used to do this; just walking away when –"

"No, _you_ always used to do _this_," he reminded her in a bored tone. "You're making _things_ out of things that aren't things. And we never _talk_." A bitter expression crossed his face, "…If you'd forgotten."

"Fuck," Neji commented flatly; seeing Gaara sidling over –looking like he was desperately trying to avoid getting involved with his sister's drama. "…What's going on over there?"

"She's being a bitch about how he's trying to avoid confrontation," Gaara deadpanned.

"…Were they always like that?" Neji inquired with a raised eyebrow; seeing irritation cross Shikamaru's face –but also something else; was it sadness? Or nostalgia?

"Always."

Neji looked across at the redhead to see if he was joking. The slightly pained expression on his face informed him that Gaara was being deadly serious.

"But arguing with Shikamaru always used to make her happy," he shrugged after an afterthought, "I'd never seen her more happy than when she was with him. And she's never been the same since she left."

"Why'd she leave him?" Neji asked.

"…Well…technically she just left everyone," Gaara shrugged, "Everyone knew that they were in love –but neither of them would say it. And…they didn't part…well…" He frowned to himself and sighed.

Temari was the year above the rest of them; minus Deidara and Itachi, who were a good few years older. This meant that she left for college before them all. This meant leaving Shikamaru.

Since the age of thirteen, everyone had known that they were secretly meant to be. She was the only girl who could match his intelligence, and though she bossed him around to levels almost equal to his mother, he respected, feared and put up with her. She was proud and often quite abrasive, and had drive and ambition, where he was a lazy-ass with no motivation whatsoever. Shikamaru had softened her temperament (much to her brothers' relief), and he was clearly her 'boy-next-door'.

But apparently Shikamaru's lack of life goals had proved too much for her. She wasn't looking for the 'boy-next-door'. She wanted a strong man with ambition, to complement her; a man who was going places, and who she could be proud of being with.

From what Gaara had overheard in the shouting match (or rather, Temari's shouted monologue), his sister had demanded to know if she factored into his future…and Shikamaru, liking to take things easy, had replied with something that apparently equated to 'we'll just have to wait and see. Don't worry about the future'. And apparently Temari didn't want to wait around for someone who might just let his incredible intelligence go to waste because he was so incurably lazy. And maybe she interpreted his answer to mean that he didn't care enough about her to make any kind of commitment; because the crashes had started, and the yelling had continued.

Temari had cried a lot that night. And Gaara and Kankuro, not used to their big sister vulnerable, hadn't known what to do. And they'd found out from an oddly restless Shikamaru that she had said that she was stupid to have ever thought they could be something…and that she wanted to start fresh with someone who actually wanted things in life.

If she had found that someone in the five years she'd been gone, neither Gaara nor Kankuro had been informed of it.

"…You want to buy a cookie?" Gaara asked weakly; dragged from his thoughts by the fact that Temari appeared to be stalking off to continue selling Christmas cookies; nose in the air.

"Sure," Neji remarked distantly, handing over the loose change in his pocket. Gaara placed a cookie in his hand and dejectedly headed off to follow his elder sister. "You know what that's all about, Kisame?"

"You'd have to ask Shikamaru," Kisame sighed with a shrug, "From what I hear, she had this whole idea of the perfect man...and Shikamaru wasn't that." He raised an eyebrow, looking at the cookie held in Neji's outstretched hand. "…Since when do you eat sweet things?" Neji looked down; only just realising that he'd apparently purchased a cookie.

"…I have no idea."

* * *

"No! Get away from me you little shits!" Deidara growled from between gritted teeth as he jogged past Itachi and Sasuke; slipping on the tiles and sliding to his ass; immediately getting pounced upon by about half a dozen small children who seemed to take great delight in pulling his hair and clambering all over him.

"Aww, _Deidara_…" Itachi mocked sickly-sweetly with a smirk plastered all across his face.

"I'm going to punch you, yeah," Deidara threatened; pulling a face as one of the kids grabbed his cheeks and pulled on them –laughing at the blonde's expression. "Come on…get…off…" He tried to stagger to his feet but found that there were three kids sitting on his chest.

"Heya kids!" Ino greeted cheekily, showing up at Itachi's elbow with a few long strands of tinsel, "Don't you think Deidara would look pretty wrapped in tinsel like a present?"

"Ino; don't you dare," Deidara growled murderously, but she was already handing over the tinsel to the cheering kids. He clambered to his feet; only to discover that there was one latched to each of his legs; making walking rather difficult.

In the end, he just resigned himself to standing there like some kind of scarecrow with a kid clinging to each leg while a crowd of them danced around him; wrapping him in tinsel.

"I hate you, Itachi, yeah," he glared flatly; much to Itachi and Ino's great amusement, "I hate my life. I hate this job. I'm not getting paid enough for this. Why are we friends, yeah?"

"I like to think it's for my benevolent nature," Itachi teased with a smirk. Deidara just gritted his teeth and obligingly started spinning to help the kids wrap him tighter in tinsel; a rather unenthusiastic maypole.

"This is just too much fun," Ino giggled, "Oh look how much they love him!"

"This is physically painful to watch," Sasuke remarked coldly.

" –Oh, little brother, you used to be much more fun," Itachi rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Deidara stopped his spinning; a girl in her early twenties coming up to him to apparently retrieve her little sister, who was apparently one of the ones sitting on his feet.

"I'm so sorry about her," she was saying; blushing slightly when she realised, once up close, that Deidara was actually a guy.

"It's no trouble, yeah," Deidara replied lightly; in a tone that his friends instantly recognised as terribly sarcastic. "I love kids."

"Oh you're so good with them," the young woman flirted, and all of a sudden, Deidara's shoulders slumped in irritation as he noticed a certain something hanging above him.

"Got you, Deidara," Naruto chuckled gleefully. The girl looked up and flushed scarlet when she realised that the pair of them were standing under some mistletoe, apparently hovering in mid-air. In actual fact, Naruto was holding a long pole with mistletoe dangling from a string…and it was his favourite Christmas toy.

"Go on…give her a kiss…" he teased, and Deidara sighed before briefly leaning forwards and pressing his lips against the girl's; just for a moment. She stammered some kind of fragment of a sentence, and, blushing furiously, tugged her little sister away. Immediately, the little boys started jeering and calling out 'ewww' but the little girls seemed to all have developed little crushes on him and were tugging on his tights; wanting a kiss too.

"No," Deidara snapped at Naruto, "Get away from me, yeah! I'm not –" Feet suddenly free, but tied together, he tried to hop away from the blonde and his damn mistletoe. Two jumps in, he slipped and plummeted to the ground; kids laughing and clambering all over him. "…Ugh...I hate kids…"

Naruto leaned on his staff of mischief; grinning wickedly at Ino, Sasuke and Itachi. Ino was standing behind the Uchihas, giving him a big thumbs up.

"Naruto," Itachi remarked warningly; sensing what Ino was getting at, "Don't make me remind you that no matter how much Ino, Deidara or anyone else encourage it, or how often you hang mistletoe between us; I will not be kissing my little brother." Ino and Naruto both burst out laughing at the deadly serious look on Itachi's face.

The sound of raised voices could suddenly be heard from somewhere across the Court, and Naruto was off in an instant, scuttling over with his mistletoe aloft.

"What's he doing…" Sasuke muttered darkly.

"Naruto firmly believes that Christmas is for loving and not for fighting," Ino informed him with a giggle. Before Sasuke's eyes, Naruto slunk up behind the arguing couple; their child obviously quite distressed until she spotted the mistletoe hanging above her parents. Both adults turned to face Naruto; a little annoyed that he was sticking his nose into other peoples' business, but apparently his beaming smile and whatever he was saying was enough to soothe the stress, the pair exchanging a brief kiss after sighing in realisation that arguing was definitely not in the spirit of Christmas. The woman thanked him and he waved to them; obviously wishing them a happy Christmas.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes and picking up his camera. "That idiot takes Christmas too seriously."

"You used to –"

"I don't care what I _used to_ like," he growled at Ino, who looked taken aback at his tone. "Now get over and start setting up the throne; Choji's going to be starting soon." Without another word, he got up and stalked off towards Santa's throne.

"…What's the problem with _him_?" Ino inquired in a worried tone, "I'm glad to have him back and all…but I never thought he'd be like this…"

"I have my suspicions," Itachi shrugged vaguely, and Ino immediately gripped his arm fiercely; demanding that he share. "It's nothing really. Go free Deidara and help Sasuke set up for Choji. I'll be there after I talk to Sakura about hiding that damn mistletoe better next time." Ino saluted with a cheerful jingle of her hat.

"Roger that, Dasher!" she chirped.

"…Don't call me that," Itachi grumbled crossly.

"But you're the head reindeer!" she pointed out cheekily.

" –Okay, we were reindeer _one year_," he growled, "You don't have to keep bringing that up."

" –Whatever you say," Ino grinned, "I'll go help Rudolph. Dancer out!" Itachi just facepalmed and groaned as she skipped off to free Deidara. Never again. He was never again letting anyone rope him into being a reindeer and towing children around the mall in a sleigh on wheels.

His gaze softened as he looked over to where Sasuke was scowling as he roughly began setting up the throne so that it would have the best light. He was clearly hating the fact that he was there and had to be involved…and wasn't particularly trying to hide it or anything. Naruto was apparently trying to cheer him up, but it had become abundantly clear that Sasuke didn't want to be cheered up.

He hoped that Naruto could somehow get through to him. Christmas just wasn't the same without his little brother around, and though Naruto had a grin on and was the epitome of festive cheer…Itachi knew that after having imagined Sasuke's return for so long; the guy just wanted to see him smiling like he sometimes used to.

* * *

**Oh Sasuke...why are you so unhappy at being home? What does Itachi know? Why does Temari have to be such a b**** to poor Shikamaru after all this time? So many questions. Guess Naruto's going to have to force Sasuke to have a good time!**

Also, just a side note. If you're interested, I've started posting an original story on Fictionpress. Please do feel free to check it out and maybe leave a review.  
s/3170715/1/The-Touch-of-Darkness

In any case; see you next chapter? Maybe? If not; Merry Christmas!  
xx K 


	3. Chapter 3

**Slight, brief lemon, yo. Just sayin'. There's your warning! **

* * *

**Nine days until Christmas**

* * *

"Why the face?" Naruto inquired of Gaara; seeing that the redhead was looking undeniably frustrated and fed up. Naruto; practically clad in Christmas lights to help out Kisame, followed Gaara's gaze over to where Shikamaru and Temari appeared to be arguing. Well, it didn't appear to be so much arguing as it was Temari making cold comments and then raising her voice when Shikamaru retorted.

"Right," the blonde replied sympathetically.

"I can't deal with her anymore," Gaara declared flatly, "She argues with him all day, and then when we go home, she complains about him. What's her problem?"

" –_Love_ is her problem," Sakura commented from where she was leaning on her hand and watching the altercation currently going down.

"…She's got a funny way of showing it," Kiba, Naruto and Gaara all replied in disbelief. Sakura just rolled her eyes as she quickly wrapped the box set in front of her. Kiba rubbed Akamaru's head affectionately; the big dog curled up around his feet with a pair of antlers sitting lopsided on his head. The Christmas elves were making the most of the rare moment of respite.

"Boys," Sakura scoffed, "Can't you see it? She's obviously still in love with Shikamaru and can't deal with it. That's why she's being so cold to him!"

"…I thought that was just her being a bitch," Gaara admitted with a sigh, "_Women…_"

"And you still don't think your sister's attitude has anything to do with the fact that you're into dudes?" Kiba commented conversationally. The redhead gave him a dry look. "I'm serious; after seeing what Shikamaru had to deal with for years…"

"You say she hasn't even had a boyfriend?" Sakura suddenly quizzed the redhead and he nodded. "Not even dated someone?"

"I think she had a few dates, but they didn't work out." Sakura sighed upon hearing this.

"Temari always had such a romantic notion of men," she assured them; watching the way that Temari was jabbing a finger at Shikamaru, while the man himself just rolled his eyes and took the yelling; even going so far as to yawn. "She always saw herself as the head of a company, with her husband doing much the same. A power couple, you know? She didn't want to be a trophy wife, and she didn't want to be a nobody."

"From the Facebook pages of some of the guys she dated…they looked like tools," Gaara deadpanned and they just stared at her; surprised that he would stalk his sister's love life. "It was Kankuro's idea, okay? They were all…" He thought for a moment, "Handsome –but _pretty_ handsome, you know? Dressed nice; dressed _expensive_; really good jobs –smart, classy…but not family men."

"Ahh…" Sakura suddenly seemed to have had an epiphany, "I see now."

"What?"

"Not telling," she replied smugly; tapping her nose, "Temari has to figure it out for herself!" The three boys groaned.

_Women_.

"Why doesn't Shikamaru just ask her out?" Kiba muttered in exasperation, "From what I hear, he hasn't so much as looked at another chick since Temari left. Even when she was around he was never interested in anyone else…"

"Like you can talk, Kiba," Sakura sniffed in response, "You've been in love with Hinata since god knows when, and you still haven't asked her out."

"H-Hey!" Kiba stammered in embarrassment, "You don't need to go bringing that up!" He looked over to the choir and his gaze softened as he laid his eyes on Hinata Hyuuga, "…She's so beautiful, isn't she? And she's just got the voice of an angel…" He curled his hands into fists, "Okay. I'm doing it. When they take a break, I'm going to go and ask her out!"

"Finally," Naruto whooped in delight, "What about you, Gaara; anyone caught your eye? Some high school crush that's been reignited?" He nudged him in the gut cheekily and the redhead remained stoically staring at Sakura to ensure that his gaze gave nothing away. With Naruto's question however, a certain face had flashed to mind…a certain face with pale eyes.

"I'm selling more cookies than Temari," he commented instead; changing the subject and looking down at his basket.

"Well, that's probably because she spends most of her time scolding Shikamaru," Sakura pointed out, "And to be fair…I think most of your cookies go to Neji, right?"

"Hmm…" Gaara responded, "He's usually accompanying Shikamaru, so when he fights with Temari, I offer Neji cookies." He sighed heavily; looking over his shoulder and seeing that Neji was lingering on the edge of the fight; holding a large plastic sheep; probably for use in the nativity scene.

"Come on, Gaara," Naruto declared, "This stops now." On that note, he grabbed his staff of mistletoe in one hand and Gaara's wrist in the other. The choir had stopped singing and was breathing a sigh of relief as they got to take their break.

"Off you go too," Sakura smirked; swatting Kiba with a roll of wrapping paper. He let out a squawk.

"Okay, I'm going –stop hitting me –I'm going!" he glared; getting up from his seat and swallowing nervously as he progressively turned more and more red. Sakura just giggled to herself.

"Guys…" Naruto sighed heavily as he drew up to Shikamaru and Temari. Their attention turned to him; their expressions identically irritated. "Why are you still fighting?"

"Well, he –"

"No, seriously; _why_ are you fighting?" he sniffed, "You haven't seen each other for five years! And it's _Christmas_!" There was heavy emphasis on this point. "I've got enough angst and Christmas hate from the bastard over there –" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to where Sasuke was apparently arguing with Ino and Itachi, " –Without seeing it from you two, too…" He pouted in the way that practically everyone hated. "Can't you guys….like, play nice? Where's your Christmas spirit?"

"He's making that face…" Shikamaru groaned; eyes closed in annoyance.

"I'm well aware, Shikamaru," Temari muttered; also refusing to look Naruto in the face while he was wearing such a cringeworthy expression.

"_Please_ at least _pretend_ to deal with each other?" Naruto begged sweetly and all four of them present just grimaced at his tone. "Whatever your problems are…they can wait until after Christmas, right? It only comes around once a year…and I want it to be like old times, this year." Temari was the first to let out a slow breath; her gaze softening slightly as she looked over to where Shikamaru was slouching, with his hands in his pockets. She wasn't stupid; she'd seen how happy Naruto was to have Sasuke back; and how much the Uchiha's lack of cheer was bothering him.

"Fine," she finally sighed; holding out a hand for Shikamaru to shake, "…I'll…I'll play nice." Shikamaru tentatively gripped her hand and their eyes met; hers softening and his reflecting a small, lazy smile that Temari had always loved. "But Naruto?" she added; breaking off both the physical contact and the eye contact and looking at the blonde, "…Sometimes things can't be the way they were."

"We'll see," Naruto sniffed smugly; before suddenly swinging his mistletoe staff in the direction of the pair. Shikamaru, who had been expecting some kind of such trick, leapt out of the way; with Temari instantly following suit. They glared at him.

"…Can't blame a guy for trying," he admitted sheepishly, and looked over at the mistletoe; sniggering behind his hands as he suddenly realised that while Temari and Shikamaru and escaped, Neji and Gaara hadn't been quite so lucky.

Gaara's turquoise eyes clearly read 'are you kidding me?' as the redhead blushed slightly; looking across at Neji to see that there were Hyuuga eyes on him.

"Oh go on," Naruto chuckled, when he realised that neither of them had automatically stepped out from underneath the mistletoe. Neji blinked a few times and shrugged a little; rolling his eyes at Naruto's stupid game.

"…Naruto, I would appreciate it if you stop finding that infernal thing," the Hyuuga muttered.

"I'll stop finding it when you bastards stop hiding it," he chirped with an expectant smirk. Neji sighed, turning to Gaara and leaning in towards him. Gaara's cheeks began to turn pink; not that the Hyuuga was aware of that. His lips were a breath away from pressing up against the redhead's, when over Gaara's shoulder, Neji spied a certain mangy mutt chatting to his blushing cousin.

"Over my dead body," he growled mutinously; storming past the wide-eyed Gaara towards Kiba; who, feeling murderous intent directed at him, had spied Neji and was looking for an escape route. Naruto roared with laughter –at both Kiba's fate and Gaara's expression.

"Oh, doesn't my baby brother look cute!" Temari exclaimed; ruffling Gaara's hair affectionately and getting a mutinous glare in response. In that moment, it was sort of like it had been; Naruto teasing Gaara playfully, and Shikamaru and Temari watching over them as the amused older siblings. Automatically, Temari glanced over at Shikamaru with a smile; before remembering herself and averting her eyes with an awkward cough.

"Next time, Gaara," Naruto teased.

"Don't you fucking dare," Gaara snapped back crossly; his face feeling hot –although whether it was from embarrassment or from the fact that Neji Hyuuga had actually just been about to kiss him, he didn't know.

"Don't abuse that thing," Shikamaru muttered in a bored tone; still staying out of mistletoe-reach. Naruto just grinned wickedly.

"Abuse it? Me? Never!" he squawked; feigning offended that Shikamaru would even _suggest_ such a thing. To be fair, he kind of _did_ take advantage of the fact that almost every person in the mall was willing to follow the mistletoe tradition –well, except for Sasuke, really. "Anyway…thanks guys…for not fighting. It…It means a lot." He gave Shikamaru and Temari one of his brightest smiles and they both had to chuckle a little. "Now…where's the bastard? I think it's about time to break out the face-painting!"

* * *

"Uhh…Deidara?" Ino giggled as she finished painting a holly leaf on a small child's face, "You…uhh…got a little…"

"I don't want to talk about it, yeah," he snapped mutinously, but she just couldn't take him seriously with the amount of paint streaked across his face. He glared down at the equally-paint-covered child standing beside him, and the kid just laughed.

"…He lost a paint war against another child?" Naruto laughed from nearby, where he was getting a very messy snowman painted onto his cheek by a giggling kid. Deidara scowled darkly. "Deidara…you should really stop letting kids beat you at things…"

"They just don't leave me alone, yeah," he complained dramatically, "Isn't that right, you brat?" he added to the kid clinging to his tunic. The young boy nodded gleefully; apparently 'brat' had become a sort of a pet name. "They're like stray animals, yeah! 'Cept I can't take them to the pound!"

"Face it Dei; kids love you," Ino laughed. Since Santa was on his break, the elves not doing actual work were doing their best to keep the kids entertained and allowing the parents to take a break. Doing face painting was a crowd favourite –much to Deidara's disgust.

"I don't know why, either," Naruto smirked, and Deidara threw him a filthy look, "Look! Even Itachi's getting into it!" He pointed over to the next table over, where Itachi was very patiently having a child dab at his face; turning him into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Finally glad that Itachi was having to deal with the traumas of children at Christmas, Deidara scooped up a pair of spare reindeer antlers that were lying around, and, apparently accumulating children at his feet, swiftly stalked over and placed the antlers on Itachi's head.

"Deidara…remove these instantly," Itachi demanded flatly.

"No."

"Deidara…"

"No, Itachi." Itachi was about to take them off, but the child doing his face paint pouted at the gesture, and he was sulkily forced to leave him on his head. "Oh _Itachi_, you're just so _cute_, yeah? Right, kids?" They all shouted out their agreement, "…You all want Itachi to play with you while I go kill myself in the bathroom –I mean, wash off this paint…" Again, there was another cheer.

"Don't you dare," Itachi growled, but the kids were already tugging on him excitedly and playing with his long, dark hair. "Deidara; get back here –Deidara! Don't do –"

"…Paint on my uniform, yeah," the blonde sang; practically skipping in delight at the freedom, " –Not a good look. Better wash it off, yeah." Itachi deadpanned; picking up one of the kids and setting them on his knee; raising his camera in resignation.

"Okay…who wants to get their picture taken with the elves?"

Sasuke arrived back from his break to discover to his horror and great amusement, his elder brother wearing a pair of reindeer antlers; his nose painted bright red. Apparently the elves were doubling as a day-care now, because Naruto and Ino were each carrying about three kids while the ones at their feet demanded attention.

"Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer; had a very shiny nose…" Naruto was singing, as Sasuke approached.

"_And if you ever saw it; you would even say it glows_," the children chorused along; delighting in the Christmas sing-along. Itachi, as a makeshift Rudolph, didn't appear to be enjoying himself quite as much.

Exhausted, Naruto left Ino to lead the song as he spotted Sasuke.

"Time for face paint!" the blonde exclaimed with a grin; wandering over with a pot of yellow paint held in one hand.

"Touch me with that and I'll break your arm," the raven threatened darkly. Naruto seemed to weigh up his options for a moment.

"I'll risk it," he chuckled, "Itaaachi!"

" –Sasuke, just do it," Itachi cringed weakly; apparently having long since resigned himself to this fate.

"I'm not a Christmas attraction," Sasuke reminded his brother darkly.

"Sasuke, at any other time of the year, I am a very well-respected and influential player in the business world," Itachi informed him dryly, "…But right now…I'm a reindeer. So put the damn face-paint on or I'm telling Father." Sasuke glared over at him but Itachi just looked back at him with the face of a defeated man. He was deadly serious.

Something cold touched his face and he flinched backwards. Naruto chuckled and held up a finger coated in yellow paint. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke just turned his cheek and allowed the blonde to proceed to paint a large Christmas star on it.

A few moments later, Naruto pulled back with a cheeky grin, trying not to laugh, while Sasuke looked over to see Itachi sniggering at him.

"…You drew a dick, didn't you?" he deadpanned.

"…Totally."

"Fix it or that paint's going all over you, moron." Naruto burst out laughing but just skipped out of range of him.

"Naruto. Naruto!" Sasuke complained; stalking after him and hovering a hand over his cheek to hide the phallic image while it was drying. "Naruto! Fix it right now!"

" –Sorry; didn't hear you," Naruto sang in delight as the raven stormed after him.

"Ino. Ino. Ino!" Sasuke growled angrily; stalking up to her.

"Hello Sasuke," she remarked sweetly and he revealed his cheek.

"Fix," he demanded as she burst out laughing and snatching up some yellow paint, "Then I need to go kill the moron." A few moments later she finished fixing the star, and Sasuke turned around; eyes searching angrily for Naruto. Unfortunately, all that happened was that he wound up with a face full of mistletoe.

" –Hi there," Ino commented; leaning on his shoulder sneakily.

"Not happening," Sasuke informed her; shrugging her off, (much to Ino's disappointment). Naruto pulled the mistletoe back with a cheeky grin. "I'm not playing that game, Naruto!"

"One day you will!" Naruto laughed; setting aside the staff and grabbing the camera around Sasuke's neck. In a single movement, he had wrapped an arm around the raven's shoulders and snapped a picture of them in a surprise selfie.

"Go away," Sasuke complained as the picture printed out and Naruto held it up to him. "Tch…"

"Sasuke…" Itachi warned. Sasuke just folded his arms; fed up, "Santa will be back soon, so –"

At the very mention of Santa, the children all around them got riled up all over again. Ino and Naruto started up the singing again; surrounded by children with holly, bells, stars and snowmen painted on their faces.

"Come on, Blitzen," Ino exclaimed cheerfully; jamming a pair of reindeer antlers onto his head. Sasuke's shoulders just slumped angrily; his face completely unimpressed. "Oh Sasuke, don't be so sour."

"I hate this," Sasuke snapped as Ino and Naruto dragged he and his brother between them. Naruto pushed his cheek up against Sasuke's and sneakily _licked _his cheek before quickly snapping a photo of the four of them and running away with a train of kids skipping after him.

"Fuck my life," Sasuke grumbled; tearing off the reindeer antlers as he spotted Choji returning from his break, "Dammit… Oi; moron! You and Ino find Deidara; playtime's over." Both Ino and Naruto pouted childishly.

"…Sasuke…Christmas is supposed to be fun," Naruto sighed, and was about to protest further, until he saw that Sasuke was looking as though fun was the last thing on his mind. "…Fine…Come on Ino…let's find Deidara."

* * *

"How can this _not_ get you in the spirit of Christmas?" Naruto was saying as the pair of them trudged home along the snowy footpath. It was six o'clock, and instead of waiting to catch a bus, they'd both decided just to walk. Sasuke had hoped that Naruto would leave him alone, but obviously not.

"It's just snow."

"But isn't it romantic?" Naruto grinned, playfully kicking at it. "The stars are out already; the streetlights are on…It's like –"

" –A Christmas movie cliché," Sasuke snorted, "Quit it, would you?"

"Sasuke, really, what's wrong?" the blonde inquired; his grin fading, "You've been back like…a week, and you just seem like you don't want to hang out with us all."

"I don't."

"Why not? We're still your friends –"

"I haven't seen you all in five years, moron."

"So? That doesn't change the fact that you're still my best friend, Sasuke."

Sasuke scoffed and averted his gaze as they walked; Naruto trailing a few metres behind him as he always used to. Sometimes people had referred to him as Sasuke's shadow; when they were younger. The Uchiha had been better in everything the pair of them ever did, and so people thought that Naruto just wanted to be like him. As they grew though, it became more and more apparent that Naruto followed him to become better than him. Even after five years, Naruto was still trailing after him, and Sasuke still hadn't figured out how to get rid of a shadow.

"Why didn't you come back?" Naruto asked quietly; his voice solemn, "I tried to call you a bunch of times, but your number got disconnected. We all missed you, you know? Especially around Christmas, because, you know; Christmas is pretty special…"

"There's nothing _special_ about Christmas," Sasuke snapped flatly, and he could just _feel_ that Naruto's shoulders were drooping sadly.

"Don't you remember?" Naruto commented suddenly, when they finally reached their houses. "Every Christmas we would all meet up in the park and listen to Hinata sing? And we would have a snowball fight, and you and me would always make the best snowman? And then we started working at the mall as elves…and we made Neji and Kisame hoist Deidara up to the top of the tree and be the angel for like an hour…" He laughed to himself, "Every Christmas I'd come and wake you up so that we could all open presents…and your dad wouldn't let us until he'd had his coffee…and we'd eat so much at dinner that we could barely move…" He looked up at the sky and sighed happily.

" –And for your last Christmas with us, right? We all dressed up as reindeer and did sleigh rides…" he laughed, "And you were Blitzen and I was Cupid; and Deidara didn't talk to Itachi for like three weeks because he made him be Rudolph! We all bought so many cookies off Temari; and you'd help with the face-paint while Sakura and Ino tried to lure you under the mistletoe…and we had to stay at the mall until midnight one night because we spilt paint and glitter _everywhere _and…" He quit his rambling to sigh again, "It's special, and will always be special; to me at least…even if it's…not…for you, anymore."

When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto just shrugged, and bid him good night; the pair of them splitting off to their respective houses.

That night, Sasuke lay in bed; just staring at the roof. He couldn't sleep. Through the evening, Naruto's words had played on his mind. Dejectedly, he closed his eyes; praying for sleep to come to him.

_Why didn't you come back_?

_Christmas is pretty special…even if it's not, for you, anymore._

_Don't you remember? _

Sasuke remembered. He remembered so very clearly. And no matter how much he tried to take it back; tried to forget, words could not express how special Christmas was to Sasuke.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke?"

Sasuke had been surprised to find Naruto lying distractedly on his bed late on Christmas that fateful year. The blonde was on his back; frowning at the ceiling.

"What?" Sasuke commented flatly, "Didn't you have to go home after Christmas dinner?"

"Snuck out," Naruto shrugged; looking over at him in interest as Sasuke sighed heavily and yawned. "…You'd tell me, if you…you know…with a girl? Right?"

"What?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow; wandering over to his bed, "…You mean sex?"

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed in a strained voice. Sasuke just shrugged.

"Yeah," he replied and Naruto's mouth dropped open, "I mean, _yeah, I'd tell you_. I haven't."

"Oh. Me neither."

"What's the problem, moron?" Sasuke asked; sensing a follow-up conversation in the distance.

"…You're leaving soon…" Naruto commented, licking his lips and looking away. "…I probably won't see you for a while, right?"

"I suppose."

"I um…" the blonde sat up; scratching his neck nervously, "I was just thinking that, um…like…we might meet girls while you're away…and wondered…" He sighed and tried to start again, "I don't know…I just hear a lot about people you know…losing it…and regretting it because it wasn't with someone special enough…" He blushed and looked down at his hands. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked down at his friend. It wasn't like Naruto to get weird and flustered like this. "…I want you to remember me…when you're gone." He paused a moment and coughed sheepishly, "…And I just thought that…people always remember their firsts…you know?" He looked up; cringing slightly as Sasuke tried to figure out how to react to this.

"…You…want to…sleep with me…" he hazarded a guess and Naruto gave a short nod. "Why?" Now, Naruto stood up, swallowing and balling his hands into fists.

"Because you're my best friend," he replied; like it was that simple, "I trust you, and I know that I can't regret it because that's never going to end, you know?" He averted his eyes with a sheepish chuckle, "…I mean…it's not like it would be the first time we kissed…"

"Kissing's different." Sasuke suddenly became very aware that Naruto had taken a step closer to him. "Naruto…"

"…Sasuke?" Naruto muttered quietly, "I don't want to meet a girl, and then share something special with her, only for us to end and me left to be bitter and having that memory of her. I'd rather remember you." Sasuke had found himself not protesting as the blonde slowly started undoing his shirt; a button at a time.

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly; feeling Naruto's fingers ghost down his chest as his shirt slowly opened. Naruto nodded.

Slowly, he leaned forwards; capturing his best friend's lips sensually. It was definitely different from the first proper kiss they had accidentally gifted to each other at age twelve. He wrapped his arms around Naruto's smaller body; pulling him in close as their tongues met. Naruto let out a breathy gasp; gripping his raven hair tightly as they kissed each other hungrily. The feeling of each other's body was familiar...and yet foreign at the same time. Naruto finally came to appreciate the strength in the raven's arms and Sasuke found himself tracing the strong muscles of Naruto's back.

Sasuke pushed Naruto onto his back on the bed; hovering over him slightly nervously. Was he really so willing to do this with another guy?

No. He was just willing to do this with Naruto.

He descended upon the blonde's throat; kissing seductively at his sensitive skin.

"D-Don't leave marks," Naruto whispered, before letting out a low moan as Sasuke's hand trailed up under his shirt and feathered across his skin. Before long, clothes were discarded and bodies met.

"Ssh…" Sasuke murmured, "…Itachi might hear…" Naruto had nodded in agreement; grabbing Sasuke's face to draw him into a deep kiss as their hips connected again; Sasuke moving roughly inside him. It had been an intense moment when Naruto's body had finally welcomed Sasuke into him; strangely intimate in the moments where they just held each other; letting the blonde adjust.

Naruto was cringing in pain; arms locked tightly around Sasuke's shoulders; legs wide and pushed back until it was bordering on uncomfortable. Nails dug into Sasuke's pale back as the raven let out a low moan; hips connecting with Naruto's tanned skin again.

"Ahh….Sasuke….it hurts…" Naruto groaned; tears springing to his eyes.

"…Do you want me to stop?" Sasuke growled; his voice haggard and his brow drenched in sweat as he fisted the sheets. He couldn't believe how good this felt.

"No," the blonde replied firmly; kissing him again. Sasuke; determined for Naruto to actually enjoy this, since he wanted it to be special, slammed up into him repetitively; only to find that his friend arched up into him with a loud moan.

"Ssh!" Sasuke hissed, but Naruto continued to croon in a low tone; hips bucking insistently.

"…Do that again…" he whispered; a high, aroused noise escaping his lips. Sasuke frowned slightly; thrusting into the blonde deeply. Naruto actually bit into the raven's shoulder with a fierce whimper as pleasure shot through his body. With a triumphant growl, Sasuke gripped Naruto tightly in his arms as he drove into him harder; hitting something deep inside the blonde that made him whisper Sasuke's name in all kinds of delicious ways.

It had been late on that Christmas, that the pair of them had lost their virginities to each other; Sasuke holding Naruto and kissing him passionately as their bodies were wracked with pleasure. It had been that night, as Sasuke had lain on top of Naruto; the blonde's limbs wrapped around him in a lover's embrace, that he had looked into his best friend's bright, pleasure-glazed eyes and heard him whisper, "…Merry Christmas, Sasuke."

He'd held him tenderly for a moment, and for him, it felt that they were the only people in the world. It had been then, as he leaned down and kissed Naruto again; breathing his name into his soft lips –that he realised that those weren't the words he had wanted to hear.

His heart raced as he held his friend; his _best friend_ in his arms, and he realised that he loved him. In that moment, he thought that there was something magic about Christmas, and that perhaps, it really was the one day of the year that miracles were possible.

And yet, all he'd been able to say, was "Merry Christmas...Naruto."

But, even just that next day, that magic of Christmas was gone, and he hadn't felt it again ever since. That day after Christmas, he had been reminded that magic wasn't real, and that he and Naruto were best friends. That was all. And that was all they were ever going to be. And knowing that was painful; painful enough for him to decide that distance was the best option; at least for a while.

But what Naruto had said had always stayed with him.

'_I want you to remember me_.'

The problem was that with this in mind, Naruto had inadvertently made it so that Sasuke could never forget him. No matter how much time passed and however much he tried.

* * *

**Chapter Three finished, yay! I'm totally actually going to have this finished by Christmas! **

**I feel like I'm tormenting Deidara too much... but I kind of love him being at the mercy of children. And poor Itachi, having to be a reindeer. **

**And *gasp* oh Sasuke... you didn't come back because... oh.  
Maybe this Christmas you'll find that magic again? **

**Reviews always appreciated! (And sorry for teasing with the very brief lemon. I'm a meanie.)**

**xx K  
PS. If you're interested in my SasuNeji story that got removed, check out my profile; there's a link to it :D **


	4. Chapter 4

" –Good boy, Akamaru!" Kiba grinned; sneaking his big dog a treat and receiving a grateful bark in response as the makeshift sleigh drew to a halt beside the gift-wrapping station.

"Again! Again!" the children screamed in excitement; their parents rolling their eyes and a couple of them handing over another gold coin donation for a second trip. Akamaru's tail was wagging in excitement as another child took their turn at riding on his back. He was quite the popular reindeer.

"Up you go, sweetie," Temari commented kindly; picking up a little girl and loading her into the sleigh. Usually, this would be Ino and Naruto's job, but until Choji took his break, they were pretty tied up with Santa photos. It was only six days until Christmas and the mall was reaching heightening levels of chaos.

" –Where's your mom?" Shikamaru was commenting from the other side of the sleigh, to a little boy who was looking lost. The little boy just shook his head; big eyes looking up at him with worry. Shikamaru just sighed and hoisted him up; balancing him on his hip as the kid stuck his thumb in his mouth cutely.

"Temari; have you seen any mothers looking for a kid?" he drawled, and she looked up; hearing her voice. Her eyes automatically softened as she drank in the sight of Shikamaru Nara with a kid curled up against him. There was…there was no denying that as much as he tried to say he wasn't; he was father material.

"Um…yes; the young redhead that Sakura's wrapping for," she replied, her voice quaking slightly. Shikamaru graced her with a small smile before tapping the kid on the nose.

"Come on kid, let's find your mom," he chuckled; wandering off as Kiba whistled for Akamaru to start up the next journey around the Court; pulling the little sleigh. Temari just watched Shikamaru lazily head over to the mother and hand the child over –the little kid apparently having become quite attached to him in the few minutes that he'd been carried –and refusing to let go.

"…Problem?" Temari inquired curiously, heading over.

"He's refusing to come with me," the mother sighed heavily; obviously stressed and tired, "Sweetie; I've only got a few more shops to go into…" The kid firmly shook his head again; clinging to Shikamaru's arm tightly.

"We can watch him for a bit longer, I suppose," Shikamaru shrugged, when it became apparent that there could be a serious tantrum in the cards. The kid looked up at him with delighted eyes, "…But when your mom comes back, you have to go with her, okay?" He received a nod in return and a look at his tired mother for permission.

"You're a lifesaver," she sighed in relief, "It's so hard to keep track of kids this time of year; but I suppose you two know all about that…" Temari and Shikamaru just exchanged looks.

" –Oh…we're not…we're not together," Temari assured her quickly.

"Oh…I'm sorry," the mother stammered, "I...you just seemed so…" A little flustered, both by her mistake and the pressure of Christmas, she just gave them a grateful smile and headed back to quickly finish her shopping.

"…_When_ did we become a bloody day care, yeah?" Deidara could be heard complaining as he wandered over to them. The elves nearby just looked over at him and laughed openly at the blonde's exhausted, fed up expression. Currently, he was standing with a small child on his shoulders; one on his back; one on his hip, one clutching his hand, and three clinging to various parts of his tunic.

"You're like a magnet, aren't you?" Kiba commented with a laugh; earning a dark glare from the other man.

"Dei-dei; can we go on the sleigh?" the girl clutching his hand inquired curiously. He flushed bright red.

"_Dei-dei_," Shikamaru mocked dryly, "Day-care? More like _Dei_-care, if you know what I mean?" Temari giggled at that, and he looked at her in surprise –he hadn't heard her laugh like that in a long time. It was nice.

"I can't help it, yeah," Deidara complained, "I just walk through the crowd and they just…_attach_ themselves to me!"

"Come on kids," Temari murmured to them; taking them from the very relieved Deidara. "We'll put you on the next sleigh ride; how's about that? Deidara's got elf jobs to do now." The kids all aww'd in disappointment, but seemed to brighten at the promise of a ride in the dog-drawn sleigh.

" –Speaking of elf-jobs," Kiba commented, "…Aren't you meant to be with Santa right now? Or did Itachi send you for another time out?"

"Santa's on his break, yeah," Deidara muttered, and this was confirmed by the fact that a cheerful blonde was trotting over to see them; apparently racing the sleigh. "But really; remind me to punch Itachi this year, yeah?"

"You say that every year," Itachi Uchiha commented lightly; making an appearance at the table as Naruto staggered over; feigning a dramatic collapse for the sake of the kids. Akamaru barked for his treat as Temari and Shikamaru started unloading the kids.

" –Well, well, what the fuck have we got here?" an amused drawl exclaimed from somewhere nearby.

" –Please don't swear around the kids –" Itachi commented flatly; his eyes widening as he turned and discovered just who he was coming face-to-face with. "Hidan?"

"Yo, Uchiha," Hidan grinned with a wink, "Long time no see."

"Yeah; what's it been…a few years?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, "What've you been doing?"

"…Deidara, mostly," the platinum-haired man cackled, much to the blonde's disgust.

"Where've you been?" Itachi inquired politely; mostly because this exchange was making Deidara highly uncomfortable.

"Prison."

"What?" a few people commented; not disbelieving that he'd been in jail; just not believing that he'd been let out.

"I'm bloody joking!" Hidan rolled his eyes; kissing Deidara firmly on the lips, despite his protests, "Seriously, what the fuck have you been telling these guys about me?"

"…Just that you're a perverted bastard with questionable morals, yeah," Deidara grumbled, wiping his mouth with his hand, "And I told you not to come see me at work!"

"Oh don't flatter yourself," Hidan smirked, "I had to come to the mall to do some fucking shopping and just happened to pass through. Cute dress though."

"It's not a dress, yeah," Deidara snapped; folding his arms huffily, "…What're you shopping for?"

"Art supplies mostly," Hidan drawled casually, "You see, my boyfriend fucking loves art, so I thought I'd get him some nice things for Christmas, since he's been pestering me all year…"

" –I do not _pester_ you, yeah –I mean…_I'm not your boyfriend_," Deidara grumbled, before muttering, "…But you're…okay."

"Love you too," Hidan snickered, kissing him again and hearing all the little girls clap for them.

"Yay! Dei-dei!" they chirped.

"Dei-dei?" Hidan queried and Deidara instantly blushed angrily as the kids all swarmed on him; hugging his legs and thinking that it was just the cutest that he had someone that kissed him. "Aw, aren't you just the most fucking adorable thing…"

" –Language, around the kids, yeah!" the blonde snapped hotly; clamping his hands over the youngest one's ears; only to wind up getting kissed again.

"…You're going to make a great mother," Hidan smirked; before flicking the blonde on the nose playfully and wandering off with a laugh at his own hilarity. Deidara clenched his fists and glared after his sometimes-boyfriend before looking over to see the other elves looking at him with playful smirks plastered all across their goddamn faces.

"…Mother, eh?" Itachi teased, "…Deidara, is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"Can I be godfather?" Naruto inquired immediately.

"No way –I'm totally godfather," Kiba insisted.

"_Hidan did not get me pregnant_," the blonde growled flatly; flushing again, "I can't _get_ pregnant!"

"Is Dei-dei having a baby?" one of the kids asked; which of course riled up all the kids.

" –No, I'm not," Deidara replied.

"Why not?" another inquired.

"Because I'm a boy, and boys can't get pregnant," he answered simply; hating how amusing his 'friends' were finding this. Naruto was practically doubled over trying not to laugh, and Sakura had messed up her ribbons about three times.

"But you have a boyfriend?" a little girl asked.

"Sort of."

"Do you love him?"

"Are you gonna marry him?"

"Maybe; hopefully. One day, yeah," Deidara snapped, and then his eyes widened as he looked up at an _incredibly_ smug Itachi. "Do _not_ tell him I said that!"

" –But my mommy and daddy say that if you get a boyfriend, you marry them and then you have babies," a girl frowned; obviously having her small mind completely blown right now –as though all she had ever known was crashing down around her.

"But if you get married, then why can't you have babies –"

"Because only girls can have babies –Itachi; don't just stand there, yeah! Help me," Deidara complained.

" –But if you have a boyfriend…"

"That doesn't matter, yeah; to make a baby you need –"

"Okay, Deidara…you are _really_ not qualified to be giving six-year olds the birds and the bees talk," Temari rolled her eyes; having finally decided that the blonde had suffered enough. "He's not pregnant, kids."

"Are _you_ pregnant?"

"No one is pregnant!" Deidara squawked, "Especially not me! Well…I suppose Temari could be pregnant…Ugh…this is the worst Christmas ever!"

"…Is that because you want a baby but you can't have one –"

Sasuke had finally decided to join the group; having been genuinely too amused by Deidara's distress to avoid it any longer.

"…So many children…" Itachi sighed heavily, "…And no Santa to keep them occupied."

" –Deidara, do you –"

"No, I am not pulling a sleigh, yeah."

"I know!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, bending down to greet the kids. "_Jingle bell, jingle bell jingle bell rock…_"

"Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring," Ino joined in; catching on to the idea as Naruto held out a hand to two little girls and began twirling them along with the singing as Sakura and Kiba started to sing along.

"Come on, kids!" Naruto chuckled; the kids, who didn't even know each other, grabbing each other's hands and tagging along as he took them over to the stage, where the choir was taking a break.

" –_Jingles bells chime in jingle bell time_," Naruto prompted the choir insistently, and, getting the idea, they started singing along; the kids all dancing in delight with Naruto and Ino.

_Giddy-up Jingle horse; pick up your feet_. They all started galloping around in the area that had cleared for them; the two blondes singing at the top of their lungs and the kids doing their best impressions of horses.

"Come on Deidara," Sakura laughed; getting up from her seat and dragging him over to join in.

" –Don't wanna –" it appeared that he didn't have a choice. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and deadpanned at the ridiculous display, but found himself being tugged closer as his brother caught hold of his sleeve.

"This is a magical moment, Sasuke," Itachi informed him flatly; pulling out his own camera and dropping into a crouch, "It'll be good publicity."

"Tch…whatever you say," Sasuke snorted disinterestedly.

The choir had started singing 'Santa Claus is coming to town'. What seemed like every child in the Court under the age of nine had gathered in front of the stage and was dancing and singing. Naruto's Christmas elf friends –minus the Uchihas, Neji and Gaara, had joined them (with varying degrees of reluctance).

" –Spin me!" the little girls were exclaiming to Shikamaru and he just gave them all a weak look as he obligingly spun them under his arm one after the other; bouncing the child on his hip –the little kid still refusing to be put down. The crowd was cooing at how adorable the children looked all linking hands and dancing along with the Christmas carols.

Sasuke sighed and crouched to start taking photos. It was…admittedly, it was nice. He could see Ino had picked up a tottering toddler and was singing with her as the child played with the bell on her hat. Deidara had accepted defeat once more and was actually joining Shikamaru in the spinning game. Temari was smiling; Kiba was grinning up at Hinata…and Naruto….

The Uchiha couldn't help but let his gaze soften as he peered at the blonde distractedly. Naruto was grinning that idiotic grin as he sang along heartily (albeit not entirely in key) with the choir; his voice the most enthusiastic of them all. There was true, genuine joy in his face; not just because it was Christmas, but because he was surrounded by his friends, and making other people happy.

He was selfless, in some ways, and being reminded of that actually made Sasuke smile.

Not that he wanted to admit it…but seeing Naruto happy like this, made him happy too.

Sasuke found his camera lens trailing after the blonde. As he peered through it, he could see Naruto grinning; at him, at the children; at everyone around. His face was lit up with a kind of light that drew people towards him. He was laughing now; galloping around with a trail of children following after him; all eager to be the best reindeer.

There was something about him that seemed to affect everyone around him. His light spread to everything he touched. Sasuke swallowed slightly; lowering his camera and just looking over at his old friend with a touch of affection that he thought he hid rather well. That light made Naruto impossible to hate –and he'd tried, during various stages of their friendship; their early teens had been an angry time for the both of them. But now that he was back, he couldn't deny it…

He'd missed that light. He'd missed his best friend.

Suddenly, he felt something tugging on his sleeve, and was jolted out of his thoughts to discover that there was a tiny little blonde girl trying to pull him out to dance. He looked up at Naruto in confusion and hopefully conveyed his 'hell no' answer in a look.

Naruto just stuck out his tongue and beckoned.

With a sigh, Sasuke allowed himself to be led out to the dance. He refused to sing, but…he did consent to spinning the little girl under his arm as she attempted to sing along. The people forming the ring around them were clapping and singing. There was, undeniably, a strange sense of community and…_spirit_…in the air, that he hadn't felt in a long time. It was so familiar too; the mocking of Deidara; the jokes, the carols; Naruto's infectious Christmas cheer…

One of the reasons Sasuke had loved Christmas from a young age was because Naruto had loved Christmas. And it was truly impossible to not have that kind of enthusiasm affect you.

And now, after five years, it was affecting him all over again –as demonstrated by the fact that he was partaking in this ridiculous activity, and dancing with children in public. As if to prove him correct, Naruto danced past with his clapping train of toddlers.

"Merry Christmas, Sasuke," Naruto grinned cheekily. Sasuke just scoffed at the sentiment, but couldn't prevent a small smile from briefly gracing his lips. The blonde saw it and beamed back triumphantly; in a way that made Sasuke's heart hammer in his chest with the knowledge that in some small way, he had made Naruto smile like that.

Itachi just watched with a smirk playing about the corners of his mouth. Even if Sasuke thought no one had seen…he'd seen. He'd seen the way his little brother looked at Naruto; the way he had looked at him for a long time –probably without realising. And he had finally seen that smile –the smile that at times, only Naruto had been able to coax from the younger Uchiha.

There was a low popping noise and the air was suddenly filled with confetti as it rained down on the children dancing. They squealed in absolute delight; spinning and skipping and messing it into each other's hair. The crowd all clapped excitedly, and Itachi looked around in surprise to see that Kisame had apparently opened one of the contraptions on the roof that were designed for this exact purpose.

The mall manager caught his gaze and smiled slightly; nodding at him. Itachi swallowed and turned back to face the crowd; glittering confetti getting caught in his long hair.

"Sasuke, look at Itachi!" Naruto chortled; pointing. Sasuke looked over his shoulder and genuinely laughed at the sight of his stern elder brother with sparkling confetti strewn through his hair. He was apparently still trying to come off dignified. Naruto grinned again. "You should laugh more, you know," he added, elbowing him cheekily. "Feeling the Christmas spirit are you?"

"No," Sasuke assured him flatly; but the lie was so evident that Naruto just grabbed one of his hands and the two of them, plus the two children they were dancing with, made a little ring of four –Sasuke flat out refusing to skip along with them as the ring grew bigger; children ducking under arms to get to the middle, before running out again.

Temari actually found herself laughing as she held a small child that had wanted to join in but was too shy to join the other kids.

"Spin!" the girl called out to Shikamaru from Temari's arms. Shikamaru just sighed; spinning first the little girl he was dancing with; then taking Temari's hand and spinning her under his arm as well.

As she turned back to face him; she felt her heart leaping at the lazy; contented look on his face. He gave her that half-smile that he had always used to do; and unwittingly, she found herself grinning back.

Shikamaru's eyes actually widened as he spun Temari again, with the little girl on her hip clapping joyfully. There was that smile; that beautiful, but scary smile that he had first fallen for. They'd used to dance like this when they were younger –well, she'd _made_ him dance. He'd always complained to his father that she was troublesome; terrifying and strong –but he had always told her that even a scary woman can be tender with the man she loved. And when she'd smiled at him like that; he'd believed him.

"Temari…" he murmured quietly as he spun her again; his hand gripping hers intimately. He felt her fingers lace through his; even if only for a moment as she faced him. Abashed, and close to winding up lost in his calculating gaze, Temari looked away. Cheeks feeling a little too warm, she tapped the little munchkin in her arms on the nose and decided to return her to her mother.

She swallowed nervously as she returned to the side-lines; seeing Shikamaru watching her as he entertained the children.

What was it about seeing him again that made her so flustered? These last five years, she'd been trying to find the perfect man –unsuccessfully. The guys she'd dated; they had been everything she'd thought she was looking for…but they weren't right. Looking at Shikamaru, and noting how she still became breathless when they were close…she realised that he was in no way the perfect man.

…But he was her perfect husband. She couldn't explain how she knew. He was lazy and drove her crazy, but being around him again made her remember that when she was young, she had never seen herself with anyone else.

That being the case, and with her desperately not wanting to admit that –not wanting to admit to still being in love with the man who she had thought was the opposite of everything she thought she wanted in life –she had tried to feign indifference. Unfortunately, it had come out as anger, and had thus attracted Naruto's attention. And now, being civil with Shikamaru again…it was making her defences drop once more.

* * *

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" Itachi asked curiously later that evening; finding his little brother sitting on the couch flicking through one of the family photo albums; a smile still lingering on his lips from earlier that day. He hadn't been able to believe it; his little brother had actually...actually seemed in a good mood. Well..._improving_ mood.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied; in that tone that siblings always use when they don't want to be pestered and are slightly embarrassed by what they're doing.

"Doesn't look like nothing," the elder Uchiha teased; leaning over the back of the couch to inspect what Sasuke was looking at. He received a glare from his younger brother, but no further protest, "Oh…old Christmas photos? You finally getting into the holiday spirit?"

"No."

"I'm sure," he chuckled; ruffling his brother's hair affectionately. Again, another glare. "Naruto did always have that sort of effect on you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke informed him flatly; turning the page and seeing the beginning of the sweater photos.

"Oh, Sasuke…" Itachi sighed heavily, "Did I, or did I not see you frolicking with small children today; singing carols?"

"…I wasn't singing."

"So you admit to frolicking?"

"Hn…"

Sasuke stared at the picture of he and Naruto on that last Christmas they shared together. He was obviously saying something like 'why do we have to keep wearing these sweaters' and Naruto was laughing at him. They were both wearing their sweaters with the Uchiha fan on the front.

Then, as he turned the page again, he saw that the picture changed to one of Naruto and Itachi. Itachi was wearing _his_ sweater; and Naruto was, as usual, wearing his own. Only that year; he was, for once, wearing it with the Uzumaki spiral on the front.

Frowning, and with a small flash of jealousy rearing its ugly head, Sasuke checked the remaining three pictures of the other Christmases he'd missed. Uzumaki spiral, every year.

"…Hmm…" he commented with a raised eyebrow.

"You noticed too, right?" Itachi remarked and Sasuke blinked in surprise; having already forgotten his brother was there, "He never wore the Uzumaki spiral on the front until you left. Every other year, it was our family crest."

"Tch…"

"It's obviously because he thinks of you as family, Sasuke," he sighed heavily; noting that his little brother scoffed at the comment. "It wasn't the same without you here."

"Great," Sasuke remarked bitterly, "Just what I need. Another brother." Itachi heard the bitterness seeping into his voice and rolled his eyes; wondering if he should mention that he had overheard them that Christmas –heard the moans and the gasps and the bed creaking –and known what had transpired between them.

He'd also known that that was the reason that Sasuke had left –or rather, _ran_. He'd always been able to read his brother like a book –though he'd never said as much –and it had been almost painfully obvious to him that that night together had freed emotions inside Sasuke that he had been pushing away for a long time. And now that he was back, he could see those same feelings resurfacing, stronger than ever; with Sasuke apparently refusing to acknowledge such things and trying to survive Christmas without revealing anything.

Well…his dearest little brother had never been very good at being open with his emotions –unless of course it was anger or annoyance...

Sometimes he needed a little push.

And what were big brothers for, if not to push and torment?

So Itachi decided to keep his mouth shut for the meantime.

As he heard Itachi leave the room, Sasuke came across another picture. It was of he and Naruto at that last Christmas; sitting at the kitchen table at the Uzumaki household in their sweaters. They were obviously arguing…over what appeared to be a small piece of paper.

…Those damn things…That _fucking_ Christmas...

* * *

**_Mere days before that fateful Christmas. Five years ago..._**

"Sasukeee…please!" Naruto complained; pushing the note across the table and having it shoved back at him, "Come on; don't be a bastard!"

" –I'm not five anymore, Naruto," Sasuke snorted, "I'm not writing a letter to Santa."

"You should!" the blonde insisted, "Just for old time's sake? Just write something, and I'll go put them in the letterbox!"

"I don't want anything for Christmas."

"You say that every year," he complained. "Go on; you have to want _something_!"

"No."

" –But _Sasuke_ –"

"Don't make that face at me; moron."

"For old time's sake?" Naruto pleaded, "Go on! It can't hurt, right?"

"Naruto; Santa isn't real," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"So?" he snorted, "Christmas is magic, Sasuke –"

"I don't believe in magic."

"Just write something on the damn letter, bastard. You're leaving next year, and I won't see you for ages; so do it!" Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"What am I meant to write? I don't want anything," he snorted, finally.

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, "Just, I don't know…write the first thing you think of when you think of something you want and would keep around forever." Sasuke groaned as Naruto chuckled to himself and wrote something down.

"What are you writing?" he asked flatly; hoping for ideas.

"Secret."

"Idiot."

"If I tell you; I won't get it!" he protested.

" –That's _wishes_; dumbass."

"It's a Christmas _wish _list, _bastard_," Naruto reminded him with a smirk. Sasuke rolled his eyes and stared down at the piece of paper sitting in front of him. He might not see Naruto until next Christmas, so he was indulging him with some of his more childish Christmas traditions.

_Something he wanted to keep around forever_.

As he looked across the table; there was only one thing that really came to mind that he wanted to keep forever. Quickly, while the blonde wasn't looking, he scrawled down one word on the list and then quickly packed it away into the envelope; sealing it with a quick lick.

"Happy now?" he grumbled; pushing the envelope across the table as Naruto sealed his.

"See; fun, isn't it?" Naruto chuckled brightly.

"No."

"Cheer up, Sasuke! You might get what you want for Christmas!"

"…I don't _want_ anything."

" –But you wrote something; so obviously do," Naruto teased, scooping up the two letters and getting to his feet, "I'll run down and drop these in the post box –you can go get wood for the fire!"

"Oi; it's your turn," Sasuke complained as the blonde laughed and headed for the door, "And this is your house!"

" –It's practically your house too," Naruto stuck his tongue out. "I'll be back soon!" Sasuke just rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the blonde's jackets so he wouldn't freeze his ass off while he collected firewood. As he headed for the back door, he frowned to himself, mulling over what he'd written as the one thing on his wish list.

It was silly, asking for something he already had. He'd written it anyway; mostly to placate the blonde. But, still, he'd written the first thing that had come to mind when he thought of what he wished he could keep around forever. It was a dumb wish; cheesy even. And even if there was a Santa; he'd probably misinterpret, and Sasuke would wind up with fish cakes in his stocking.

Tch…yeah; it was silly, asking for Naruto for Christmas.

* * *

**Cute Sasuke. Is the magic of Christmas (or rather, the magic of Naruto) finally getting through to him? And what on earth is Itachi going to do now? Get up to no good, no doubt! And Temari...did you make a mistake in leaving Shikamaru? **

**Also, I wasn't going to have Hidan feature in this fic because well...he's just not really the Christmas type, I feel... but if someone requests him I just simply can't turn that down; I love him too much. And I feel like ****_maybe_**** I'm tormenting Deidara a little too much. . . Not to mention I just love the idea of the characters dancing to Christmas carols with kids!**

Only a few more chapters to go! Drop a review? Or drop by for the next chapter!

**xx K **


	5. Chapter 5

**Only a few more days until Christmas. . . . . **

* * *

"I hate _all_ of you."

"Oh cheer up, Itachi; you look adorable!" Sakura squealed in delight; batting at the bell dangling from the Uchiha's elf hat. "Oh come on; don't pout –you're lucky we had a spare guy's outfit this year!"

"…_Lucky_," Itachi scoffed, agitatedly tugging on his elf tunic warily and being thoroughly unimpressed when the back rode up slightly. "I wouldn't call Ino getting sick, _lucky_."

" –I thoroughly disagree," Sakura commented cheekily as Deidara looked as though Christmas had come a few days early.

"Deidara; don't make me throttle you," Itachi threatened in a neutral tone.

"I'll die happy, yeah," Deidara chortled, "How does it feel? Do you feel emasculated, yeah? Now you know how I feel _every damn year_!" He took a moment to silently thank every god out there, "Oh this is too sweet, yeah."

"…I hate you," Itachi growled, "I don't see why _I_ had to take Ino's place."

"We voted," Deidara assured him with an overly cheerful clap on the back, "Ahh, Christmas is the most wonderful time of year, isn't it, yeah?" He was grinning wickedly and Itachi was glaring at him as darkly as he possibly could, "Smile Itachi; it's Christmas! We're meant to be spreading joy and cheer, yeah."

"I think you broke Deidara," Naruto commented with a low chuckle; trying to suppress the laughter that was welling up in his throat at the sight of the elder Uchiha brother in the same green tunic with red trimmings that the rest of the elves were clad in.

"…I don't think he's quite broken enough…" Itachi grumbled mutinously, "…Sasuke; we are _not_ keeping _any_ of those photos. Mother does _not_ find out about this."

"She's doing her Christmas shopping today," Sasuke replied rather smugly; being in a rather excellent mood today. Ino had called in sick; meaning that they needed a replacement elf to help with Santa; and since the other elves were already incredibly busy; it had fallen to either Sasuke or Itachi to take Ino's spot.

And that position had been allocated to Itachi; much to his displeasure.

"Come on Itachi, yeah," Deidara remarked cheerfully; grinning from ear to ear at the Uchiha's mutinous rage as he and Naruto dragged him up to where Choji was settling into his throne. The line of kids was as huge as ever. Sasuke just smirked; getting his camera ready as Itachi glared at his younger brother. He was truly glad that Deidara and Sasuke were actually getting into the Christmas kind of mood…but did it have to be at his expense?

"Sasuke; have you seen Shikamaru?" Kisame's thick voice inquired and Itachi looked up; his eyes widening in embarrassment as he subtly retreated behind the throne. "He's meant to be helping finish up the lighting but…"

" –Try under the gift wrapping table," the raven replied simply, "He likes to take naps there."

"How can he already be tired?" Kisame muttered incredulously, "Have you seen your brother, by any chance?"

"Yeah –" Sasuke nodded towards the Santa throne where Itachi had apparently disappeared from, "Deidara; where's Itachi?" Obligingly, both blondes up there yanked Itachi out from his hiding spot. He gave Kisame an utterly embarrassed, defeated, unimpressed look and the older man clamped a hand over his mouth and averted his eyes.

"…You want something for that nosebleed, boss?" Shikamaru commented dryly and Kisame glared at him instantly; checking to see if Itachi had overheard. Since he was berating Deidara and Naruto, it appeared that he hadn't.

" –Lighting, Shikamaru," Kisame growled.

"….Ask him out," Shikamaru advised flatly.

" –I don't know what you're talking about," his boss snorted.

"Oh please," the lazy genius rolled his eyes, "You do this every year. You get a bit flustered and defensive when you're around him and the two of you have painfully long eye contact. It's exhausting."

"Lighting, Shikamaru," Kisame repeated, but his co-worker had noticed his lack of denial. Everyone knew about the stupid crush their boss had on their _big_ boss's son –it became more and more obvious every Christmas, when Itachi came and worked with them all.

"I'm going, I'm going," Shikamaru yawned, waving him away dismissively. "And if you see Gaara, tell him that Neji's looking for him."

"What? Hyuuga addicted to those cookies now?" Kisame raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"…Something like that," he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, we're ready, Sasuke!" Naruto hollered out; scooping up a child in line and beginning to carry them up the stairs to Santa's lap. Itachi gave Deidara a dry look and the blonde looked positively delighted as the raven's hair got pulled by the cheeky child.

"This is the best Christmas ever," Deidara announced with a smirk. Itachi sighed and moved a little closer to Naruto; putting on a smile worthy of a Christmas photo. At the change in position, he watched his little brother's eyes narrow sharply; just before the camera flashed.

Itachi raised an eyebrow and his expression changed slyly; having figured out _exactly_ how to push Sasuke's buttons.

The next photo, he companionably wrapped an arm around Naruto's neck; the blonde not thinking anything of it and hugging the Uchiha back in delight. The little kid; a bright eyed little raven-haired child, apparently thought that they were just the coolest elves he'd ever met, and demanded a picture with them before being returned to his mother.

Sasuke ground his teeth at that photo; Itachi and Naruto swinging the child between them, and him looking up at them excitedly. If he hadn't seen the mother standing nearby –and didn't have knowledge of reproduction, he could've sworn that the kid looked like the offspring of his brother and Naruto.

And he didn't like that; not one little bit.

Itachi was doing it on purpose, he mused to himself as the photos progressed. He had to be. He and Naruto weren't this close; not at all! Well, unless they'd bonded over the years that he'd been away. That thought made his blood run cold and he glared rather openly at Itachi; who, in response, simply pressed his cheek against Naruto's cutely as the flash went off. The blonde tugged on Itachi's bangs playfully and received a flick on the nose right back.

"You're being awfully friendly today, Itachi," Naruto remarked conversationally, since it was Deidara's turn to grab the next kid. " –Not that that's a bad thing. It's a nice change from Sasuke being a total asshole and everything."

"Just…getting into the Christmas spirit is all…" Itachi replied with a smug, knowing smirk, "…Got to distract myself from the fact that I'm wearing tights."

"They look good on you," Naruto assured him and then blushed, "I mean…that is…I didn't mean for…"

"_Real smooth, yeah_," Deidara mocked with a triumphant laugh. Both Naruto and Itachi looked up in astonishment to see Naruto's own weapon; that damned mistletoe; hanging above them.

"You can't use my own tricks against me!" Naruto complained as Itachi looked over at Sasuke wickedly. Sasuke knew his eyes screamed 'don't you fucking dare'; but he couldn't say anything –how could he try and interfere when Naruto was standing right there?

"Practice what you preach, yeah," Deidara smirked expectantly and Naruto scratched the back of his neck with a laugh and a shrug. "Go on!"

Making sure that Sasuke was watching; Itachi quickly leaned in and deftly pressed his lips up against Naruto's; feeling the blonde playfully kiss back for a moment, before pulling away with a slight blush.

"I'm going to kill him," Sasuke muttered under his breath as his smirking elder brother descended the stairs and greeted the next little child in line since Deidara had been too preoccupied with the mistletoe.

"Green isn't a good colour on you, Sasuke," Itachi in a superior tone; poking him in the forehead; between his eyes.

"I'm not jealous," he immediately denied flatly.

"I completely believe you," Itachi replied sarcastically. "You always were very possessive of him; even before that Christmas…" Sasuke froze.

Had he heard right? Obviously; from the way Itachi sniggered.

"I –I don't know what you're talking about," he growled; somehow managing to keep his voice even.

"Does the phrase '_Itachi might hear'_ ring any bells?" his older brother commented lightly; Deidara coming down to coax the little kid away from his mother since Itachi appeared to be distracted, and the kid, reluctant. Was it possible for Sasuke's blood to run any colder? "I always knew that Naruto was special to you, little brother…I just hadn't realised to what extent until that night."

"Stay out of this, Itachi," Sasuke threatened, "It's none of your business."

"It's a lot of my business," Itachi informed him flatly, "Is he the reason you didn't come home? What happened between the two of you –aside from, well, the obvious? Do you _love_ him?" Sasuke's silence apparently told him more than his little brother could've said with words.

"Have you told him?" Itachi inquired in an aloof tone.

"What?"

" –That you're in lo –"

"Back off, Itachi," Sasuke interrupted darkly, "I can't believe you knew about that night…"

"I can't believe you thought I didn't," he sniffed, "Sasuke, I'm your older brother; you can't hide anything from me." His gaze softened, "…Now; are you going to tell him?"

"There's nothing to tell." He was thankful that this kid had an extensive Christmas wish list. Itachi just sighed heavily.

"…Sasuke…I've barely seen you in five years," he muttered, "Your family miss you…and _he_ misses you. For what reason will you not tell him that even after all this time, you're in love –"

"I'm not in love with him anymore," Sasuke snapped coldly and then gritted his teeth; averting his eyes at the slight slip.

"Is that so?" Itachi remarked dryly; not believing it for a moment; and noting the use of past tense as opposed to an outright denial. "Then why are you getting so openly aggressive whenever I'm close to him, little brother? And why are you so desperate to avoid him?"

"You're delusional…" Sasuke snorted.

"…I just kissed him. And you're so obviously jealous it's almost painful."

"Get lost, Itachi; you don't know what you're talking about."

He watched his brother grit his teeth again and resisted the urge to laugh. He felt a _little_ bit guilty about pushing Sasuke like this…but it was for his own good. He knew that Naruto had always had a special spot in his heart for Sasuke –whether or not that was love remained to be seen –but in any case...staying silent was hurting his brother and making him distance himself from Naruto. The elder Uchiha had already grown to see Naruto as a second younger brother, and he didn't like to see him unhappy because Sasuke was being a little prick.

And as much as Sasuke probably wouldn't believe it, Itachi did love his brother and wanted him to be happy.

Preferably with Naruto Uzumaki.

Now, Itachi hoped that with his interference he could force Sasuke into some kind of confession –maybe even make Naruto question his own feelings for his brother. But, at the very least, he knew that since he had now pulled Sasuke up on distance, he was going to make a point of disproving him.

"Itachi!" Naruto called out from Santa's throne, "You're a Christmas elf! Come be Christmassy!"

"Coming, Naruto," Itachi replied lightly; giving his brother a triumphant smirk before joining them for the photo; the blonde's head resting on his shoulder familiarly. Sasuke glared as he took the picture. Fine; if Itachi wanted to play like that…

He let out a low breath to prevent murder from seeping into his eyes at Itachi and Naruto joking around like he used to do with the blonde. He knew that he_ had_ been being…well, a bit of a dick to Naruto…and he supposed that it really was quite obvious. But that didn't mean that Itachi had to go and point it out like that…And now, since his brother had noticed…and he had vehemently denied it…Well, he had to try and act a bit more normal, he supposed –even if it hurt.

Itachi resisted the urge to rub his hands together maniacally. Oh, Sasuke was so predictable.

* * *

"How's it going?" Neji commented curiously as Itachi gratefully took a seat on the edge of the stage during his break. The Hyuuga and Shikamaru were currently working on the lighting display that would be turned on for Christmas Eve –and Shikamaru was looking completely over it.

"…How do you wear these tights?" Itachi complained; tugging at the red fabric on his legs, "They're so _tight_ and I feel so exposed –"

"Welcome to our world," Neji replied flatly, "…At least you don't have to go up ladders in them…"

" –Did you cut the bells off your uniform?" Itachi suddenly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…I refuse to sound like a fairy," was his response. The Uchiha just sighed and shrugged. "Oh…Hi, Gaara."

"Neji," Gaara greeted, "Itachi," he added, upon seeing him sitting there. He raised an eyebrow. "…Want to buy some cookies?"

"No thank you," Itachi shook his head, but Neji was already digging around in his pocket for some change. "Since when do you eat sweet things, Neji?" The Hyuuga didn't reply, but gratefully accepted the cookie that was placed in his hand.

"You sure buy a lot," Gaara commented and was a little surprised to see Neji's cheeks turn pale pink. He chuckled slightly as Kisame wandered over; catching sight of his assistants.

"Shikamaru; stop napping," Kisame sighed heavily, "Come on; we've still got a lot to do before Christmas eve and only a few days to do it…"

"Yeah, I'm going, I'm going," Shikamaru yawned, " –Troublesome…"

"It's not –oh…hi Itachi," Kisame commented in surprise; catching sight of the Uchiha sitting there in his elf costume. Everyone present rolled their eyes.

"Where's Naruto when you need him?" Neji muttered.

" –Right here, Neji!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, and both Neji and Gaara sprang apart from each other; just in case they were again the target of his mistletoe –though they both looked a little conflicted about it.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), they were not the intended target. Shikamaru, in passing, just so happened to bodily push Kisame forwards until he was standing underneath Naruto's infernal mistletoe with Itachi.

"Merry Christmas," Shikamaru remarked with a smirk as Itachi and Kisame kind of just stared at each other for a long moment. "Go on." Neji nudged Kisame a step closer and looked at him expectantly.

"Uhh…" Kisame remarked with a small cough; apparently trying to think of some way to talk his way out of this.

"Seriously…" the elves muttered.

"Itachi…" Naruto snorted flatly; looking at the elder Uchiha expectantly. Itachi rolled his eyes, and then tore off his elf hat before stepping forwards and dragging Kisame's face down to meet his in a kiss.

"Use tongue," Shikamaru advised with a smirk, and Naruto let out a wolf-whistle as Itachi obliged; pressing his tongue against the hot lips of the other man and finding that they parted. The kiss deepened as Kisame kissed back; wrapping his arms around the smaller man.

"_Finally_," the elves present all groaned in exasperation as their two bosses violently made out in front of them. Naruto withdrew the mistletoe with an exhausted sigh; seeing Itachi's hand fist Kisame's shirt aggressively and dragging him closer.

"I should've done that _years_ ago," he sighed in realisation.

"Why _didn't_ you?" Neji snorted crossly, "We've been having to deal with their weird _liking each other_ thing for years!"

"What?" Kisame inquired flatly; suddenly pulling away from the kiss and earning an annoyed grunt from Itachi, who just withdrew; licking his lips in annoyance as he released the other man.

"…You're actually joking, right?" Neji deadpanned, "We tell you to ask Itachi out every year."

"Telling me to ask him out isn't the same as telling me that he liked me back," Kisame snapped flatly.

"Act your age, Kisame," Neji scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Naruto?"

" –On it," Naruto replied brightly; swinging the mistletoe back over the pair of them. Itachi folded his arms and looked up expectantly. Kisame sighed to himself and glared darkly at the surrounding elves.

"…Do you want to go for a drink after work?" he offered flatly.

"That would be great," Itachi replied, pointing up at the mistletoe again. Kisame smirked and leaned in again to passionately kiss the Uchiha.

"Well I'm glad we got that sorted out," Shikamaru muttered as the elves headed off to actually do some work while their bosses dealt with resolving a small portion of their accumulated sexual tension, "Guys; there's kids around…" he hollered back at them with a brief chuckle. Naruto laughed along until Neji cuffed him over the back of the head.

" –Why didn't you think of doing that sooner?" he complained snottily, "Do you not understand how infuriating it was every Christmas with them just gazing at each other?"

"My bad…"

* * *

"Sasuke, come set the table, please!" Mikoto called out from the kitchen later that evening.

"Why?" he drawled back from where he and Itachi were busy watching some terrible Christmas movie that for some reason had to be broadcasted every year.

"The Uzumakis are coming over for dinner," she replied and he just let out a long groan, "Sasuke Uchiha; do as you're told!"

"Mother, I'm not a child," he reminded her flatly.

"I am still your mother and I will still ground you!" she growled back warningly and Sasuke's shoulder slumped crossly as Itachi smirked at him; still insisting on wearing _his_ Christmas sweater like he had been this Christmas. For some reason, after the way he'd been acting with Naruto today, it irritated Sasuke to no end.

"Make Itachi do it!" he called back.

"Sasuke," Mikoto threatened.

"Fine…" he grumbled, "Oi, Itachi…take that off."

"Why?"

"Because it's mine, and I don't want you wearing it," he snapped back.

"You're not going to wear it."

"…So?" he sniffed, "It's _mine_ and you shouldn't be taking my stuff without asking!"

" –Can I wear your sweater?"

"No."

"Why not?" Itachi inquired innocently, and Sasuke's cheeks went pink.

" –Because I said so," he growled; not having a better reason.

"You're not mother; you can't use that," Itachi smirked smugly; feeling Sasuke glaring at him as he continued to pretend to watch television. "I actually want to wear it."

"No you don't; it's fucking ugly," Sasuke snapped.

"Then why do _you_ want it?"

"Just give me the damn sweater, Itachi!" he growled.

"Sasuke Uchiha; I don't see this table being set!" Mikoto called from the kitchen; weary of her son's non-compliance. He glowered at his elder brother, who was making a point of not removing the sweater.

Grumbling mutinously about his idiot elder brother, he finally headed to the dining room to start setting the table.

As he was finishing up, the doorbell rang.

"Itachi –" Mikoto hollered.

" –Already got it, mother," he called back to her with a sigh; wrenching open the door to find that the three Uzumakis were standing there, grinning. He shook hands with Minato and accepted the dessert that he offered up –knowing that it had been him and not Kushina that had made it. Kushina wasn't the greatest cook, and knew it.

Every 'family' dinner that Naruto had with the Uchihas ran similarly. He and Sasuke were forced to sit on opposite sides of the table since they argued so much; his mother and Mikoto would scold them for such behaviour and reminisce about how cute their children had been when they were younger, and their husbands would sigh heavily and engage in talk about work and politics and anything other than what their wives were saying.

This dinner was different in the fact that Sasuke was moodily sitting next to him, picking at his food; Itachi innocently sitting opposite them.

"What's up?" Naruto inquired, as Sasuke again toyed with his dessert, "It's your favourite…I told mom to make it specially…"

"Not hungry," Sasuke just shrugged.

"You're so moody these days," Mikoto sighed, shaking her head incredulously, "Do you miss being overseas?" Again, all she got was a shrug, and his mother turned to Kushina in exasperation, "When he got accepted for the exchange to finish high school overseas, we thought it would be so good for him to see the world a little –we never imagined he'd just stop coming home when he got a scholarship for college…"

"I'm sure when you graduate, you'll come back home more, right Sasuke?" Kushina chuckled, "That's the end of next year, right?"

"Yeah," he replied shortly.

" –Are you looking forward to it?" Naruto inquired curiously, "You'll get to come home then, won't you? I want to move to a big city; you'll be looking for a Law internship, right? You should come with me!"

"That'd be great, right, Sasuke?" Itachi commented knowingly, "You and Naruto living together in a new city…" Sasuke glared over at his brother; a small lump forming in his throat.

"It'd be great!" Naruto laughed, "You could cook because I suck at it; and we'd probably fight _all the _time –" he admitted sheepishly, "But it'd be so cool! We used to talk about that, remember? Moving in together?"

"Yeah," Sasuke repeated dryly; continuing to toy with his food. Of course he remembered. They had talked about that the day after Christmas that year. That had been when he realised that although he was special to Naruto; he wasn't _that_ kind of special.

They'd been talking about the future; about Sasuke coming back home after his year overseas, and then they'd go off to college together; maybe even room together in the dorms and flat in their later years. Sasuke, his realisation of his deeper feelings still fresh in his mind, had felt his hopes rise at this prospect…until Naruto had starting talking about girls.

He couldn't remember the words…but the blonde had been saying things like they would have to have some way of letting the other know if they had a girl around; and of course if it got serious, she would have to factor into their plans…and if Naruto found a girl while Sasuke was away, college choice might have to be taken into consideration –but they'd find a way to make everything work.

And just like that, the realisation had hit him that what they had done the night before was simply between friends; that ultimately, Naruto was looking for a female companion –and he would always just be that _friend_. He'd still kept a little bit of hope alive during that next year; hoping that when he came home for Christmas to discuss college…maybe he would stand a chance. But he'd found out, a few months before Christmas, that Naruto was dating some girl who was headed off to the same college as him.

He hadn't come home that year, and taken up a scholarship to continue college overseas.

Even when Naruto and that girl had broken up…he hadn't come home –not until this year. And now, Naruto was just acting like nothing was wrong.

Well…for all he knew…nothing _was_ wrong.

And then he remembered that this was _not_ how someone acted when they were over being in love with someone. He caught Itachi's eye and sat up a bit straighter to join in the conversation again. He was going to prove to his brother that he didn't need him interfering –that he was wrong; that he wasn't in love with Naruto anymore.

…_Even if that was an outright lie_.

* * *

"Give me the sweater," Sasuke demanded again in a low tone, later that evening as Naruto helped Fugaku relight the fire. This time, Itachi took off the thing without so much as a protest and handed it to him. Biting his lip slightly in annoyance, but determined to show Itachi that he was not some sulking, lovesick little bitch, he dragged the hideous thing over his head; Uchiha fan sitting proudly on his chest.

It was itchy, and he couldn't quite explain it, but as soon as it was on him, he felt…

_Home_.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in delight; suddenly spying him and tackling him in a big hug, "You're wearing your sweater! We can put up the star now!" Itachi let out a dramatic sigh as Sasuke looked at him in confusion.

"…Naruto refuses to put up the star on top of the tree without you…" he muttered; facepalming as his brother was dragged over to the decoration box and the big star pushed into his hands. He just stared at it for a moment and when he looked up, Naruto was beaming at him; having swivelled his sweater around so that they were both wearing the Uchiha fan on the front.

God, the joy in those eyes was practically blinding.

"C'mon; c'mon!" Naruto laughed, and with a sigh, Sasuke crouched down so the other man could scramble onto his shoulders. They wobbled precariously as he moved upright; grabbing Naruto's knees to steady him.

He found himself smiling slightly. Every Christmas, he and Naruto had teamed up to _attempt_ to put the star on the tree. Most years they failed; mostly because their Christmas tree was enormous –except for that last Christmas where they had been tall enough to reach.

"Perfect!" Naruto grinned; pulling on Sasuke's cheeks as the raven took a few steps back. "Put me down now!" Wickedly, Sasuke ducked suddenly; throwing the blonde off his shoulders and sending him flying across the room and landing on the couch.

"Bastard! You'll pay for that!" he exclaimed hotly; spinning around and making a leap for Sasuke; grabbing him around the waist and wrestling him to the floor. The pair of them immediately began shoving and wrestling on the floor; pulling on hair and clothes and attempting to push the other one's face into the floor.

"Play fair!" Sasuke snapped when Naruto bit him on the ear, and had to hold in a soft moan when he felt the tip of Naruto's tongue touch the edge of his ear.

" –_You_ play fair!" Naruto yelped as he was head-butted in the chin; pulling Sasuke's hair. He let out another yelp, "Hey! No biting!" he added as Sasuke bit the skin of his wrist.

"You bit me first!"

"Boys, boys!" They both froze at the sound of a camera going off and turned to face Kushina; who was laughing cheerfully as Mikoto held up her camera for another photo. "Not so violent!" Naruto pouted crossly and got up off from where he was convinced he'd almost managed to smoosh Sasuke's face into the carpet.

" –Oh, Aunt Kushina?" Naruto queried, "Could we…could we get a photo with the Christmas tree? Since Sasuke's back…and all?"

"You should re-enact that first Christmas picture with your sweaters," Itachi called out innocently from the couch and Sasuke glared at him; remembering all too well what that picture was.

"Oh, Itachi, that's a great idea," Kushina exclaimed, "Seeing as it's like having a first Christmas with Sasuke all over again! Go on boys!" Sasuke just rolled his eyes and obligingly sat cross legged when his mother looked at him insistently. Naruto plonked himself down in the raven's lap; wriggling to get comfortable as Sasuke made an annoyed noise; spitting out a mouthful of blonde hair.

"Oi, quit moving, moron," he snapped, earning himself an elbow in the gut. "Mother, _must_ we do this?"

"Yes; it's nice," she informed him, "You two look so precious! Go on Sasuke; give him a hug!"

"I am not a _hug_ kind of –ugh…" Sasuke just glared over at Itachi as Naruto obligingly grabbed his arms and wrapped them around his abdomen; leaning back comfortably. "…Don't just _go along with them_!" he snapped at the blonde.

"Lighten up," Naruto snorted; pinching his hand, "You've been away for five years; you can pose for one bloody photo." Sasuke sighed. Well, he supposed that he could afford him this one thing. He allowed his scowl to soften slightly. It wasn't a smile, but it was the best he was going to do.

And then he started to become hyperaware of everything. His arms were wrapped around Naruto; the blonde's back pressed against his chest. He fit against him perfectly. His blonde hair was tickling Sasuke's pale cheek; one hand grasping his knee, and the other placed over his folded hands. Subconsciously, Sasuke ran his thumb across the soft skin of Naruto's hand.

Naruto turned to look at him with that bright smile of his, and distantly, Sasuke heard the camera go off; but disregarded it, since all he was aware of was the fact that his close was so very close to his friend's. Without really even meaning to, one of his hands gently fisted the fabric of Naruto's sweater; the blonde's lips slightly parting and Sasuke's eyes falling to half-mast as they gazed at each other. All he had to do was lean forwards and close the gap...

"Naruto?" Itachi suddenly commented, and the eye contact was broken; Naruto's head swivelling sharply to face him as he spoke, still sitting in Sasuke's lap, though the raven had removed his hands; averting his eyes in embarrassment and cursing his lack of self-control. He'd be willing to bet that Itachi had seen.

" –Don't you have a letter to Santa to send?" the elder Uchiha remarked in amusement.

"Shit, I forgot!" Naruto exclaimed.

" –Language, young man," Kushina reprimanded as the blonde leapt up; sending Sasuke sprawling onto his back. She sighed as her son sprinted out of the room and likely back to his house to collect his Christmas wish list to drop off down the road in the post box. Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh as he headed over to throw another piece of wood on the fire.

"Maybe I should get you a foghorn this Christmas," Itachi remarked conversationally, as their parents headed off to the kitchen for an after-dinner drink. "Then maybe you can drown out the sound of denial." Sasuke just glowered at him; not having anything else to say. Instead, he just sat down in front of the fire and gazed into it distantly.

Who was he kidding?

Would Naruto have kissed back, if he'd kissed him just then? In front of their parents? God…how mortifying.

A nasty thought crossed his mind. If _Itachi_ knew that they'd slept together…was it possible that his parents…

A few minutes later, he was jolted from his thoughts by Naruto himself crouching down next to him.

"Oi; our moms are pulling out the home movies," he informed him with a grin, "It'll be hilarious; you were the damn cutest kid there was…" Sasuke just made an, "Ugh," noise but got to his feet.

"I can't believe you're still sending Santa Christmas wish lists."

"It's a tradition," Naruto sniffed, "And besides, _I_ still believe in the magic of Christmas."

"What'd you ask for this year?" Sasuke inquired flatly; remembering that he hadn't even gotten the blonde a present. Did they still have to do that?

"Same thing I ask for every year," Naruto replied with a chuckle.

"You ask for the same thing every year?" he raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Ramen?"

"Secret," the blonde laughed; tugging him to his feet to pull him towards the other room. "I just have to make sure that Santa knows what I really want. And I've been _real_ good this year." He grinned again and Sasuke rolled his eyes as they headed back to the smaller lounge where his father had set up the big TV with the home movies.

" –You're a child. Santa's not real."

"The magic of Christmas is real, Sasuke; believe it," Naruto chuckled, "My Christmas wishes always _used_ to come true, and I've just got a good feeling about this year!" He tugged the raven down to sit with him on the couch.

" –Oh look; Naruto! This is when you lost your first tooth! Sasuke hit you in the face with a swing!" Kushina laughed. The little Naruto on the screen was obviously not having as much of a good time; Sasuke tearfully saying he was an idiot and hadn't meant to do it.

" –Oh, this must be the video with Sasuke's first filling," Mikoto commented in delight, "He demanded Naruto go with him, didn't he? And he hated it so much he swore off sweets!" The two mothers laughed while their husbands just sipped on their beers.

"Where's that one with their first school dance?" Kushina squealed, "They were just adorable, weren't they? In their little ties…" She and Mikoto laughed together while their sons just sank down into the couch in mortification –even Naruto; who usually loved this sort of thing.

"Come to think of it…" Mikoto remarked with a small frown, "Those two sure did share a lot of firsts, didn't they?" Sasuke's heart almost stopped beating in horror as Kushina paused slightly and the two husbands (and Itachi) spluttered into their beers.

"…First bike ride; first day of preschool; first day of school," Kushina rattled off, "…_First kiss_," she added with a cheeky nudge of her son.

"…Mom…"

" –First school camp; although I think Naruto cried, didn't you, sweetie?"

"Aunt Mikoto!" Naruto complained; scratching his chin as he too tried to add to the list. His mother and aunt really had hit the nail on the head. He and Sasuke really had shared a lot of things together, hadn't they? "I suppose there were a lot…" He looked at Sasuke with a sheepish look, "…Um…First fist fight…first drink…first party…" Everyone in the room chuckled slightly and Naruto found himself blushing and unable to look anyone in the eye as he softly added under his breath.

"First…_first_…"

Only Itachi (since Sasuke was too busy trying to get his heart to restart after having considered the possibility that everyone in the room knew about he and Naruto's one night); managed to pick up on those two words…and the tone in which Naruto had said them. Almost every major first in a person's life, Sasuke and Naruto had shared together. And it made him seriously wonder if there was one more major first that the pair had had together.

One _other_ first that stuck with a person for their entire life; the emotional equivalent to the physical one that he knew Naruto and Sasuke had shared.

Was _this_ first _shared_ between them, also?

* * *

**What's this ****_first _****you're thinking of, scheming Itachi? And did Naruto and Sasuke share it?  
Meanie; interfering and trying to make Sasuke jealous! Almost made him slip up too! Where to from now? Well, onwards to Christmas, of course! Christmas Eve comes around in the next chapter, so don't forget to review and stick around! **

**All my love, **

**xx K**


	6. Chapter 6

**Bit of a lemon warning. Sorry that this has taken longer than usual to get updated; I've had various other ideas swirling around in my head, distracting me from this one. **

* * *

**Christmas Eve**

* * *

The Christmas elves were physically and emotionally exhausted. They had been on their feet all day; dealing with last minute Santa photos, a flurry of gift-wrapping, unreasonable customers, and being called into various shops to actually help serve. Even Naruto was collapsed in a chair with a coffee to try and keep himself awake.

"Oi, moron; move over," Sasuke complained; kicking him lightly as he came to sit down.

"Cute hat, Sasuke," Naruto chuckled –having been about to complain about the nickname before he saw that the Uchiha was actually wearing a Santa hat. Sasuke just scoffed and rolled his eyes as the blonde added, "Good to see you're finally getting into the spirit of Christmas! Better late than never, I suppose."

"Shut up," Sasuke grumbled, but found that he couldn't be cross at Naruto; not on Christmas Eve. "Have you seen Itachi?"

" –Last I saw of him, he was helping Sakura," Naruto shrugged; nodding over at the gift wrapping station, where, at six o'clock at night, things were finally slowing down; well, at least for another hour when the Christmas lights started up and people would come from all over the city to see the splendour that was the mall lit up in all its festive glory.

"H-Help…" a weak voice complained from nearby, and the pair of them looked up in time to see Deidara collapse at their feet; only to be pounced upon by several children. He didn't even bother fighting them.

"Tired, Deidara?" Naruto teased, receiving a defeated "Mmm" in response. The kids seemed to quite enjoy sitting on the poor, exhausted blonde. "I wonder when the choir's going to get back. People are starting to arrive…"

"Ugh…" Sasuke muttered.

"Smile for a bit longer!"

"…I don't smile."

"…Stop…arguing…yeah…" Deidara grumbled from the floor, "It's Christmas Eve…" The three of them sighed heavily as Kisame wandered over; looking just as run off his feet as the rest of them.

"Why are there so many people?" Naruto inquired curiously.

" –People are just trying to get here early, I guess," Kisame groaned, "The choir's on their break…and I don't want to rely on you guys for entertainment –is Deidara unconscious?"

"…Yes…" Deidara muttered into the floor, as the kids tugged on his hair and begged for him to be their horse.

"_Dei-Dei, please_," they exclaimed.

"Dei-Dei needs to have a nap…" the blonde murmured in exhaustion.

" –Hidan's not going to be pleased if you're tired tonight…" Kisame commented in amusement and Deidara let out another groan.

"Don't remind me," he muttered with a cringe and an automatic clutch at his lower back. Naruto chuckled at him and looked over to where Shikamaru was relaxing with Neji.

"Kisame; why don't you get Shikamaru to play?" he suggested; gesturing at the piano. "He and Temari used to perform at Christmas all the time; even when we didn't work here." Kisame mulled this idea over in his head for a moment before shrugging and wandering off to where Shikamaru appeared to have heard his name and was looking for a method of escape.

"Okay…kids…" Deidara sighed; crawling onto all fours, "We're going to listen to some music…all the way over there…" He sounded so helpless that Naruto took pity on him; scooping up two children and beginning to carry them over towards the stage.

"Sasuke," he called lightly; indicating for the Uchiha to also relieve Deidara of some of his limpets. Sasuke just let out a sigh as two small kids latched onto his hands and began dragging him after their horse and the other elf.

"Kisame; it's not going to happen," Temari snorted; hands on hips as Shikamaru sat at the piano expectantly; testing out a few notes experimentally.

"Temari please; the choir isn't due to be back for another half hour or so, and we need some sort of entertainment," Kisame sighed heavily, "You and Shikamaru always used to sing at Christmas."

" –_Used to_," she reminded him flatly.

"Temari," he frowned, handing her the microphone as people started gathering over by the stage expectantly. She looked over at them and sighed; the little kids already perched at the edge of the stage; their eyes big and excited. "Please?" Without giving her time to respond, Shikamaru started playing the intro to '_Baby, it's cold outside_'; Kisame scampering off the stage.

"No; Shikamaru, stop," Temari muttered, away from the microphone. He just quirked an eyebrow at her and continued playing, "No…Shika –_I really can't stay…_"

"_Baby it's cold outside_," Shikamaru sang along in his dusky voice.

"_I've gotta go away_," she added; sounding a little playfully bored.

"_Baby it's cold outside_…"

"_This evening has been…_" Temari remembered this duet so well. How many times had they sung this song together? She even remembered the exact way they had always performed. She wandered over to him slowly; still singing; leaning against the piano and moving in; as if for a kiss, before turning away abashedly.

In an instant, it was back to how it had always been. She didn't know if everyone else could see it, but the playful spark was back in Shikamaru's eyes –one that she had always associated with him loving her. She knew, without a shred of a doubt, that he still loved her; just as she still loved him.

The lights began to dim; the fairy lights slowly flickering on and setting the Court in a beautiful, magical setting. Though there were eyes on them, Temari felt as though she and Shikamaru were the only people in the world. The lights of the Christmas tree glowed sweetly; casting the whole room in a peaceful, soft glow.

"They're so cute, aren't they, Sasuke?" Naruto laughed; his voice soft as he was entranced by Temari and Shikamaru's singing, and the dimming lights. Tired, he found himself leaning against Sasuke; the kids they were holding having run up to the front of the stage. Sasuke looked away; embarrassed at such a gesture –and also worried that if he looked at Naruto, he wouldn't be able to resist making some kind of move.

After all, the soft lighting, and the music…and just the blonde's very presence was…well, it was making him feel strange.

"Sasuke?" Naruto inquired; having felt his friend's shoulders tensing. At his name, the raven turned to see that the blonde's face was far too close to his; almost glittering in the low light. "What's…what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sasuke found himself whispering; almost too breathlessly. Strangely, he was unable to turn his eyes away from Naruto's. They were just blinking back at him with such brilliant intensity that he couldn't bear to look away. As much as he desired not to, he found himself leaning in; the fingers of one of his hands softly lacing between Naruto's fingertips and the blonde not pulling back.

"Why hello, little brothers," Itachi commented smugly from right behind them. Both of them started in surprise; Sasuke yanking his hand from Naruto's and tucking it securely behind his back; praying to any god that Itachi hadn't seen that.

The wicked look in Itachi's eyes reminded him of why he was an atheist.

…It was then that he noticed the mistletoe dangling above them.

"Itachi…" Sasuke growled darkly.

"Merry Christmas," his elder brother remarked with a knowing, scheming smirk. Naruto's eyes stared in horror at his own weapon once again used against him…but this time, with Sasuke? "Naruto…not going to follow tradition?"

"S-Shut up!" Even Sasuke caught the way Naruto stuttered. Weird? He'd been completely fine giving Itachi a kiss, hadn't he? Itachi leaned heavily on the pole and let the mistletoe dangle a little lower between them. He quirked an eyebrow expectantly; breaking out into that rare smile that Sasuke remembered from when they were younger. Itachi used to smile a lot more.

"Uhh…" Naruto coughed, turning to face Sasuke again, "I guess…" Itachi wasn't rubbing his hands together maniacally, but his little brother could tell that he was physically repressing the urge to do so. Sasuke sighed heavily; balling his hands into fists. Distantly, he could hear Temari and Shikamaru still singing.

And then all of a sudden, warm lips were pressed up against his. His dark eyes widened in surprise; feeling tanned hands fist his shirt. Naruto's eyes were pressed tightly shut; a soft blush dusting his face. Sasuke couldn't help it; he kissed him back; eyelids falling to half-mast as he languidly traced the seam of the blonde's lips with his tongue. Naruto gasped slightly; his lips parting tentatively; tongue flicking out to meet Sasuke's.

Pale hands gripped Naruto's whiskered face gently; deepening their kiss. Itachi smirked to himself as their lips pressed together hungrily; tongues entwining intimately as their bodies gradually drew closer.

"…You're a fucking smug bastard, Uchiha…" Hidan's voice growled in the Uchiha's ear. Itachi's dark eyes slid sideways to the platinum-haired man as Naruto and Sasuke slowly drew apart with a final kiss. Naruto clamped a hand over his mouth with a low 'eep'; his eyes obviously startled. Before Sasuke could say anything, the blonde had shot off into the crowd; amid applause as Shikamaru pulled Temari in for a kiss.

"…I'm allowed to be smug when I'm right, aren't I?" Itachi reminded him with a smirk as Sasuke gave his brother a withering glare and stalked off to the back of the room –the complete opposite direction from Naruto. His face was flaming. "If I do recall –"

"Yeah, yeah, you thought I was into fucking dudes and wound up being right," Hidan snorted, "Quit your fucking gloating, will you? It's been like ten years; you can stop being fucking smug."

"Never."

"If I fucking _recall_," he added wickedly, "It cost you an awful lot to prove it to me…" Itachi actually felt his ears going red. "So quit being an asshole; or I'm going to have to fucking tell Sasuke that I'm the one that took –"

"Okay, I'll behave…" Itachi snapped at him crossly; embarrassed. " –But look at –"

"I'm fucking glad you got me with Deidara; but no one likes it when you're a fucking pain," Hidan drawled, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "Let _them_ figure it out. It's none of your fucking business."

"…He's my brother. It's my business," Itachi sniffed.

Naruto quickly reached the stage in time to see Shikamaru being berated by a strangely flustered Temari. Shikamaru, however, managed to avert an ear-bashing by starting up another Christmas carol on the piano. Naruto didn't dare to look back. Okay, so running away hadn't been his brightest idea ever…but with the realisation that he was _making out_ with Sasuke had made him panic. Heat was flooding his body and his mouth was tingling. He could still feel Sasuke's touch; on his tongue, lips and face. This wasn't good. This was _really_ not good. He'd been trying so hard to pretend that everything was normal, too!

It was an awkward ride home to say the least.

Itachi resisted the urge to giggle as Naruto and Sasuke sat in the back seat of the car; unusually quiet. He could practically feel the anger emanating from his younger brother and the awkward radiating from Naruto. In the rear view mirror, he could see the pair of them sometimes trying to sneak glances at each other, before averting their gazes when caught.

Oh, this was just perfect.

Dinner…well, Christmas Eve dinner was less awkward because Sasuke and Naruto could interact with the other people at the table and not seem to be trying to avoid one another. Conversation was…a little strained, and Naruto seemed to be deep in thought for a lot of it; which his mother pointed out was most unusual.

Sasuke was pointedly refusing to talk to Itachi, despite his mother's constant reminders of, "It's Christmas Eve; be nice to your brother." In his eyes, Itachi had ruined _everything_.

However, Itachi was convinced that this was not the case.

He would've been overjoyed and altogether far too smug if he had known that he was correct.

Naruto was, in fact, distracted by his own thoughts. As he toyed with his potatoes, he mulled over the past. Not even Mikoto's fabulous cooking could take away the taste of Sasuke still lingering on his lips from earlier in the evening –and it was bothering him…bringing to the surface, emotions that he had tried to bury.

Five years ago, almost to the day, he had asked Sasuke to sleep with him.

His motives back then, he had thought had been purely platonic. Sasuke was his best friend, and he was leaving, and Naruto wanted to make sure he remembered him. And his stupid brain had thought, '_if we sleep together, we'll always be each other's firsts…so he'll never be able to forget me_!'

Stupid, stupid brain.

And he'd thought that things wouldn't change between them. It was just sex after all, right?

But, as that final year of high school went along, and he dated girls…he began to feel as though something wasn't right. He found himself running to the letterbox every morning; hoping that something had arrived from Sasuke. He waited anxiously by the phone; checked his email dozens of times a day. The prospect of Sasuke coming home for Christmas was what made his year worthwhile. If his girlfriend at the time hadn't realised by those clues that he was thinking about someone other than her, she had been made very much aware of it when he had accidentally breathed Sasuke's name while they had sex.

And more than once. Once, he maybe could've been forgiven for. But after it happened a few times, she had dumped his ass and he had seriously had to consider what his feelings for the Uchiha really were.

Since Sasuke didn't come home for Christmas, and Naruto hadn't received any clue as to whether he was even reading his letters, he knew that he'd have to wait until the following Christmas to talk to him.

And over that first year of college, he gradually came to terms with the fact that he was in love with Sasuke. After all…he couldn't stop thinking about him…and whenever he would think about the night they shared (which was a lot), his palms would sweat and his heart would race and his mind would suddenly be filled with all the good times they'd shared. It was a year of excitement and realisation. When Christmas came around, he had made up his mind to tell Sasuke how he felt. It was driving him mad.

But Sasuke didn't turn up for that Christmas.

Second year of college; that was the year that he really understood how he felt. That was the year where he may have experimented with other people; guys and girls –to see if any of them made him feel how he'd always felt with Sasuke. The experiments proved nothing except that Sasuke was the only person he could see himself with. And again, he hoped that he would come home for Christmas, because he needed to tell him how he felt; and in person, too.

Sasuke didn't write back…and he didn't come home.

Third year of college was a year of resignation. Sasuke had missed three Christmases. Naruto hadn't seen him in three years. Sasuke hadn't written, hadn't called and hadn't emailed. That year was a year of anger. When the Uchiha got home, he was going to get his ass kicked for not talking to him. But he didn't come back; not that year.

And this year…Naruto's last year of college; he dealt with heartbreak. Four Christmases had passed, and he hadn't seen Sasuke; hadn't even heard from him. It had become abundantly clear that despite his hopes…his old friend had forgotten about him. And so he tried to forget right back; tried to remind himself that Sasuke wasn't coming back; that he really didn't care. By the time Christmas came around, he had managed to convince himself that he was over it all; that he had fallen out of love and that it didn't matter anymore.

And when he had seen him again…he couldn't do it. He couldn't yell at him; couldn't confess to him; couldn't do anything but just be so glad that his best friend was home. And he'd been just so overjoyed, that he thought he would be happy if things just went back to being how they used to be.

But…as the days rolled by, he discovered that nothing had changed. Nothing had changed about the way he felt about Sasuke. He'd tried his best to make sure that everything was normal; that to him, Sasuke was just a best friend. But inside, all he wanted to do was grab him and kiss him. And now that he'd had a taste of what he'd longed for, for five long years, everything was flooding back to him.

The way his heart pounded whenever he looked him in the eye; the way he felt his breath hitch when Sasuke smiled; just the joy of being near him. It ached, and he'd been hiding it for so long. He hadn't even told his parents how he truly felt about his best friend; just pretended to them that he missed him like best friends would miss each other.

He snuck a glance across the table and saw that Sasuke was alternating between glaring at Itachi and engaging in conversation with his father. He drank in the sight of the raven's handsome pale face, and felt himself blushing slightly and looking down at his food nervously.

Five years…and he still couldn't bring himself to say anything? No. He had to do this, didn't he? He had to say something. He'd already gone too long without saying anything.

* * *

"Uhh…Itachi?"

Itachi heard the quiet knock at the door of the guest bedroom he'd opted to sleep in. An unusually shy blonde head peeked around the corner; big blue eyes gazing up at him nervously.

"Could I…talk to you?" Naruto inquired in a small voice.

"Sure," Itachi nodded, gesturing for him to come in. Naruto was in his pyjamas, since he'd gotten used to sleeping at the Uchiha house on Christmas Eve these past years. Usually, he slept in Sasuke's room, but since he was home this year, Itachi had given up his bed and moved into the guest bedroom for the night.

"Something bothering you?" the Uchiha inquired innocently.

"No; nothing's bothering me. Why would something be bothering me?" Naruto exclaimed –not fooling him for an instant.

"Oh please, Naruto…" Itachi sighed, "You're practically family. I can tell when something's bothering you." Naruto took a seat on the edge of the bed and immediately began fidgeting.

"Um…Itachi…you're g-g…you like men, right?"

"Indeed," Itachi replied; a little amused at Naruto's opening line, but reminding himself that Naruto obviously wanted to have a serious talk if he was privately seeking him out like this. The blonde scratched his chin awkwardly.

"Have you…had sex?" came the next question in a small voice. Itachi allowed himself a small smile.

"Yes, Naruto; I have had sex," he confirmed.

"Did you lo…How did you feel about…the first one?" he'd never heard Naruto go so quiet.

"Are you asking if I loved the man I lost my virginity to?"

There was a small, embarrassed nod in return.

"No," Itachi replied flatly; cringing in slight embarrassment. Naruto's eyebrows shot up into his hair in astonishment.

"Then why did you…"

"It was a bet," he answered in a neutral tone, "And Uchihas are nothing if not proud. Proud and competitive; destructively so." Naruto actually laughed at this. "…And sex doesn't _necessarily_ equate to love."

"That's...that's what I thought," the blonde explained; though his tone was hopeful, if nothing else; like he'd actually been trying to _convince _himself of that.

"What about _you_?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, "Did _you_ love the person you lost your virginity to?"

"No," he replied quickly, and then paused, "…At least…I didn't. Like…Not at the time. But then…No. No, I didn't. Don't. I mean…It wasn't out of _love…_"

"I see," Itachi mused; sensing that there were more questions, but mentally high-fiving himself at the slight admission. The blonde was apparently unaware that Itachi knew of how he had, in fact, lost his virginity. "So why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you sleep with someone you didn't love?" he elaborated, "I had something to prove. What about you?" Naruto turned an interesting shade of pink.

"…We were friends. But…I think now…" He sighed, and averted his gaze; changing his train of thought. " –Have you…ever…done it with a straight guy?"

"…Yes and no," Itachi answered cryptically, and Naruto just quirked an eyebrow at him quizzically. Itachi grimaced and added, "…That was kind of what the bet was about. And, you may be relieved to know…that if a straight guy agrees to have sex with another man…he's more than likely not entirely straight." He looked pointedly at the blonde. "…Look at yourself, for example."

Naruto flushed a very violent crimson.

"Who said –I didn't…not with a…" He stammered, and then saw that Itachi wasn't buying a word of it; just watching him with a somewhat _disappointed_ look –disappointed that he was even _attempting_ to lie. "…Fuck. You…you know…don't you?"

"Yes," Itachi assured him, "I know. And even if I didn't know; he's the reason you wanted to talk to me, am I right?" Naruto immediately looked guilty and looked anywhere but Itachi's face.

"Um…" he began. A winning opening line, if Itachi did say so himself. But then he saw Naruto take a deep breath and just knew that he was about to blurt something out.

"I just slept with him because we were friends, but then I realised that I was actually in love with him and was going to tell him about it, but he never came home for Christmas –so then I thought that I was over him, but then I realised that I wasn't, and then we kissed and, Itachi –" He finally took a deep breath and his expression turned to one of quiet sadness, "…I still love him. I thought that I could stop…but I can't." Itachi wrapped an arm around his shoulder as the blonde looked sadly down at his hands.

"I take it you haven't told him yet?"

Naruto shook his head.

"How could I?" he snorted flatly, "I didn't hear from him for five years! I thought he'd just forgotten about me! And things…" his eyes saddened, "…Things were just starting to get back to how they used to be. I just wanted my friend back…"

"…I think…" Itachi commented, "…That you need to talk to Sasuke."

"Why?" Naruto immediately sounded panicked by this suggestion. Itachi just ruffled his hair fondly. "I can't! What if he freaks out and leaves for another five years?"

"Naruto." Apparently hearing his name calmed him slightly. Blue, worried eyes turned to face the elder Uchiha. "Believe me when I say that I am very aware of what unsaid love looks like," he informed him; slightly dryly.

"…You didn't notice Kisame liking you…" (Itachi pointedly chose to ignore this comment).

"And trust me when I say that it can surprise you," he added cryptically. "You need to talk to him. Obviously, you haven't had any closure and it's preventing you from moving on. Or something…" He patted the blonde's head reassuringly.

"Talk to him," he advised.

"But what if –"

"I think you're lacking faith in Sasuke," Itachi reminded him, "Even though he will deny it; you're his best friend. He'll…understand." Naruto just stared at Itachi for a long moment before finally getting off the edge of the bed; mulling over what he had heard. He nodded a few times to himself.

"Thanks…" he murmured; heading for the doorway, where, unbeknownst to him, Sasuke Uchiha had been standing up until only seconds ago.

Sasuke sprinted down the hallway and down the stairs as quietly as he possibly could while his heart hammered in his chest. His mind was having some difficulty processing the information he had just heard.

Had he heard that right?

_…I was actually in love with him. _

_I still love him_.

"Naruto…" he whispered quietly; leaning heavily in the doorway of his room. If he was wearing a shirt, he would've been grasping it fiercely right now. He leaned his forehead against the doorframe; trying to swallow the lump that had risen in his throat.

All this time…Naruto had felt this way, but he'd just been so stupid and so blind that he'd refused to come home, thinking that…

_He was a fucking moron. _They were _both_ fucking morons. Why hadn't he written back? Why hadn't he come home…why hadn't Naruto said anything in any of his letters?

This was too much. This was happening too fast. Sure, their kiss earlier in the evening…well, he'd clearly taken that too far –tongue wasn't common in mistletoe kisses that didn't mean anything…But he hadn't been able to resist –not after having craved it for so long. What should he do? What should he say? Was Naruto going to come to him?

Footsteps from down the hallway informed him that he was about to find out.

Naruto appeared at the end of the hallway and appeared startled to find Sasuke standing there. In the depths of the house, the clock chimed for midnight.

"…Merry Christmas, Naruto," Sasuke murmured quietly, as the blonde tentatively began to approach him until he was standing at the door to Itachi's room; right next door.

"M-Merry Christmas, Sasuke," he replied; just as softly, "What are you doing up?" And then, without explanation, he found himself being dragged by the raven into a tight hug. Confused, he hugged him back tentatively; Sasuke's bare skin warm beneath his hands. "…Is something wrong?"

"No," Sasuke muttered, burying his face into Naruto's neck. "…Just…happy."

"What, that it's Christmas?" Naruto chuckled; finding himself absent-mindedly running a hand through Sasuke's hair before remembering what he'd resolved to do. Meanwhile, Sasuke was fighting inwardly with himself. This was it, wasn't it? This was his second chance. He had to say something now; had to act now...while there was this Christmas magic that Naruto seemed to believe in.

Christmas...How strangely poetic.

"No…" he whispered in a low tone; feeling the blonde shiver at such a tone, "…I heard what you were talking to Itachi about." He could've sworn Naruto's heart almost stopped. He looked up at the blonde's face; seeing him paling in horror.

"Y-you did?" he stammered, "W-What did y-you hear?"

"…Everything…" he murmured; pulling back and looking him dead in the eyes; his gaze strangely predatory. Naruto's breath hitched; feeling Sasuke moving closer. He tried to back away slowly, but discovered that the door was preventing him from doing so.

"…I love you too…Naruto…" he breathed; barely able to believe that this was happening. Several emotions danced through Naruto's eyes; joy and disbelief…but then anger won out as it finally dawned on him what had been said.

" –Then why didn't you –" His angry growl was cut off abruptly as Sasuke's lips descended on his. For a moment there, he tried to push him off; afraid that this was some kind of sick joke, but furious at Sasuke if it was real. Why hadn't he come home? Why hadn't he said…why had –_oh that was his tongue…_

With a low moan; Naruto wrapped his arms around the raven's neck and kissed back; tongue meeting with Sasuke's in hot, hungry movements. He felt himself being lifted and slammed up against the door; hands tightly gripping at his lower back and slipping lower. Already, he was feeling hot –too hot. Memories of the last time they'd done this were flooding back to him; his body already quivering in anticipation. Sasuke's lips were searing his mouth longingly, and Naruto's heart dared to soar; kissing him back just as hungrily. Whatever had been awakened by their kiss under the mistletoe was burning hot within him, and there was no cooling it down...

Sasuke could barely believe what was happening. All he could think was that Naruto's lips felt so good against his. So long, he had wanted this; wanted to kiss him; wanted to hold him like he had held him only once before. And now, he didn't know if he could restrain himself. This was it. He needed to know that he wasn't dreaming.

"Tomorrow, we talk," Sasuke growled in his ear; harshly kissing the sensitive skin beneath it. "But tonight…" His voice had sunk to a low purr, "…Have sex with me?" Naruto, to his great embarrassment, actually let out an audible moan at this suggestion; finding this low, sultry voice all-too arousing. As a response, he allowed Sasuke's sliding hand to loop one of his legs up around his hips as the Uchiha kissed a hot trail down his throat.

One of Naruto's hands tangled in Sasuke's hair and the other trailed down his pale chest; rubbing one of his nipples harshly and causing his breath to hitch in pleasure. Naruto chuckled lowly; feeling hips needily grind up against him. His shirt was being pushed up; hands ghosting across his abdomen and up…lust clouding his judgment.

He'd been waiting years for this moment to come again. He couldn't wait anymore. Dragging Sasuke's lips away from his neck and back to meet his, he demanding tweaked his nipple; moaning into his mouth.

"…I need you…" he whispered; his words coming out ragged as Sasuke's hips ground up against him again. Getting the hint from the blonde, Sasuke promptly lifted him and crashed into his room, slamming the door shut behind them.

Their clothes were being flung across the room even before they landed unceremoniously on the bed; Naruto crawling into Sasuke's lap and looping his arms around his neck. Feeling himself growing more aroused with every kiss the raven was pressing against him, he began rolling his hips up against him; their still-clothed arousals rubbing together pleasurably. A hand slid down his bare, tanned back and he shivered with excitement as fingers trailed down the seam of his ass.

"…Yes…" he breathed; gripping Sasuke's neck tighter in encouragement; one of his hands delving beneath the raven's waistband to grip his hot arousal.

Passion finally unleashed after having been left brewing for five years, spurred them onwards. Sasuke's slicked fingers slid up into Naruto; surprised at how welcomingly the blonde's tight entrance took up his digits and hungrily sucked them in deeper. Their erections ground together; Naruto's hand working up their lengths as their bodies longingly ground against each other. Naruto rocked back against Sasuke's hand; forcing them to brush up against his prostate.

"Ahh…" he cried out softly; his body arching up into the raven's touch, "Harder…Right there…more…" He let out a low groan and impaled himself down upon those penetrating digits even more forcefully; letting Sasuke roughly stretch him.

Sasuke was undeniably turned on by Naruto shamelessly riding his fingers. He…obviously had some experience in that area…and the mere thought of him doing this with anyone but _him_…

Suddenly, Naruto was roughly pushed onto his back; blue eyes gazing up through the veil of lust to see Sasuke bearing down upon him with some kind of primal ferocity in his eyes. It was…_hot_.

"…Naruto…" The raven growled; reaching over to his bedside table to grab the lube again; his hot arousal rubbing against the blonde's exposed entrance and prompting him to widen his legs further. Naruto let out a soft whimper at the predatory glint in Sasuke's eyes; dragging him down to kiss him again as he felt something burning and blunt forcing itself inside him.

"…Hard…" he moaned, "Do…do me hard…"

"…I intend to…" Sasuke murmured, sheathing himself within him in one heavy thrust. Naruto let out a long moan; biting into Sasuke's shoulder; savouring the feeling of the pulsing length inside him. Wrapping his arms around the pale back above him, he kissed Sasuke's neck tenderly before the Uchiha drew back; pressing their foreheads together.

"…Hah…You…so good…" Sasuke breathed; their lips meeting and tongues entwining as he slowly began to move against him in deep thrusts; their bodies harshly pressed together. Naruto let out an aroused whimper as he felt Sasuke's cock draw back to the tip; his inner muscles loosening back into place; only to be forced apart again as he slowly slid back in.

But after so much time spent with repressed feelings, it didn't take Sasuke long to let go of that control.

And when that happened, Naruto couldn't hold back the moans; no matter how much he tried. It was all he could do to grip Sasuke tight as he flung back his head; the bed smashing against the wall as the raven pounded into him without restraint. Naruto's inner walls were hot with the friction from Sasuke's thick length slamming viciously into him –striking his prostate and rocking his body with waves of pleasure. Doing this with Sasuke felt…felt so different from with anyone else.

With Sasuke, he loved every breathless gasp; every ripple of his muscles; loved feeling the skip of his hips slap against him...but mostly, he loved that he could hold him and breathe his name and hear his own gasped in return.

It was different from their first time, and yet so familiar. Their muscles had changed; their bodies grown -but the same familiar contours; the same scent and the same comfortable feeling of each other was still there. This time, they knew what they were doing. They had both grown and become stronger. Sasuke was reaching deeper into him; stretching him wider and slamming into him with much more force. This time, Naruto relished the slight pain, and their kisses were more frequent and filled with fire.

"Sasuke..." Naruto keened; nails raking down the raven's back as he widened his legs again to welcome him deeper inside him. Each movement of Sasuke inside him sent a wave of pleasure rocketing through his body, and as he was heavily pounded into, he couldn't help but breathe his name over and over. This only spurred him on; sweat rolling down the raven's back.

"Kiss me..." Sasuke moaned; gripping the bedsheets tightly as Naruto arched up against him from a particularly powerful thrust. Naruto eagerly obliged; melding their mouths together as the raven gripped his cock and began roughly stroking him towards release. A tanned hand gripped dark hair as Naruto pressed their foreheads together; gazes locked intimately.

The double stimulation from inside and from Sasuke's hand suddenly pushed Naruto over the edge, and he came across their chests with a hoarse cry of Sasuke's name. Sasuke followed only a few moments later; releasing deep inside Naruto and riding out his orgasm with a few final thrusts; unable to look away from the blonde's brilliant blue gaze. Panting heavily, he leaned in and gave Naruto a soft, intimate kiss; feeling the limbs surrounding him fall lax.

Needless to say, if Sasuke's family hadn't been aware of he and his best friend being sexually involved in the past; tonight they were made well aware of that fact. Not that he really cared right now. Nothing could ruin his mood.

Although, he_ had_ just realised to his horror and slight amusement that he had accidentally dragged Naruto into Itachi's room and not his own...

…But it was Christmas, so at least he had a whole day to spend with Naruto before his brother could kill him.

Lying in post-coital bliss, with a blonde head rested gently on his pale chest, Sasuke allowed himself a small smile; thinking back to that first night they had shared. Belatedly, he realised what he should've said back then; those three little words, in reply to Naruto's whispered 'Merry Christmas, Sasuke'. Words that might have saved him time and anger...

But now, lying in this same house, in this same way, he knew this was his second chance to do exactly that. Allowing himself a small smile as Naruto curled up at his side, he brushed a few blonde locks back off his face gently.

"I love you."

* * *

**FINALLY it's uploaded! Was running a teensy bit low on inspiration for this chapter but I do hope that it served its purpose and that at the very least you enjoyed it a bit. It's not meant to be too serious... **

**Only one more chapter to go after this; CHRISTMAS, and I promise it'll be up before Christmas day! Hope the holiday season is treating you well!**

**Also... seems Naruto and Sasuke are gonna maybe need to talk/yell this out in the morning... **

**xx K**


	7. Chapter 7

**Final chapter!**

* * *

Christmas mornings were sort of a routine in the Uchiha household.

After the age of five, which was when Naruto had started staying over on Christmas Eve, the mornings of Christmas ran in pretty much the same fashion.

Naruto would be the first one up, and he would wake up Sasuke; likely through some rough ritual like jumping on him, or tearing his blankets off, or pushing him off his bed. After a round of insults and excited 'Merry Christmases' from the blonde, the pair of them would burst into Itachi's room and wake him up through use of similar techniques.

And Itachi, not being a morning person, would be forced to endure this about three times; managing to kick them out of his room twice and attempting to fall back to sleep. After he had been mercilessly tugged awake for a third time; his hair being pulled, or plaited, or his blankets being nearly flung out the window, he would drag himself to the kitchen to make them breakfast.

Itachi's coffee habit had started relatively young.

The three of them would sit in the kitchen having whatever it was that Itachi felt like preparing. Some years it was toast; other years he had felt more generous and made waffles. With that out of the way, the three kids were each permitted to open two presents from Santa, to amuse them until Fugaku and Mikoto managed to get up and join them with their first coffee of the day.

Between ten and eleven, Kushina and Minato would arrive; always managing to time it so they were there just as the coffee was being poured; and the two families would open their presents together in the Uchiha living room; the boys actually making an effort to get along with each other. And after that; they would share a lovely 'family' lunch together.

This year went somewhat differently.

This year, Sasuke was the first up.

He yawned sleepily; rubbing his eyes as Naruto shifted in his sleep; face dozing contentedly despite the state the pair of them were in.

Itachi was going to kill him. Absolutely kill him.

With a sigh, Sasuke looked over at the clock on Itachi's desk and noticed that it was almost ten. His parents would be getting up soon. Fondly, he brushed Naruto's bangs back off his face and clambered out of the bed; grimacing at the remnants of their night-time activities caked to his chest. Shower first, then.

A quick dash to the hall cupboard allowed him to grab a spare towel for Naruto, (leaving it on the edge of Itachi's bed), and he headed off to have a shower.

Last night…Well…he couldn't deny that that was what he'd desired for years. His heart was still pounding with the knowledge that Naruto loved him…but he was intensely _annoyed_. Five years he'd kept that quiet? Five years he'd had the option of just _telling_ him?

To be fair, Sasuke hadn't answered his calls…so he was definitely at fault for that…

After his shower, he changed; feeling considerably cleaner, but a little relieved that some of Naruto's scent still clung to him. He set the jug to boil, and distantly heard the shower rattle on. Good; so Naruto was up. Maybe he should've stayed in bed with him a bit longer? It would've been nice to wake up together, he supposed.

Sasuke was in the living room, getting the fire going to make the morning a bit more cosy, when Naruto finally emerged; dressed in some of Sasuke's clothes, and sporting a rather prominent limp. He looked annoyed.

"What's that face for?" Sasuke inquired in amusement; quirking an eyebrow as Naruto limped forwards crossly and jabbed a finger at his chest.

"You!" Naruto snapped. " –You didn't come back for five years and _now_ you dump that bombshell on me!"

"Bombshell?"

"You said you loved me, bastard!" he exclaimed fiercely, "You can't just…Come home and…"

"You told _Itachi_ that you loved me," Sasuke growled defensively, "You told _him_ before you told _me_! Were you ever going to tell me?"

"…Maybe…" Naruto snapped hotly, "I thought you'd forgotten about me, okay? I wanted to tell you in person, but you _never came home_!"

"You were the one who started talking about girls and everything!" he snorted, "I thought that I didn't matter to you; so I didn't want to come back!"

"You're a fucking idiot!" Naruto exclaimed, taking another step forwards, and suddenly finding that a pale thumb was tracing along his swollen lips.

"…You look good in my clothes…" Sasuke murmured in a low tone; leaning in and pressing his lips up against Naruto's to distract him. The blonde almost caved to the tongue running across his lips, but pulled back hurriedly.

"You said we'd talk!" he snapped flatly; only to wind up being kissed again. "…Sasuke…mmm…" Unable to resist, he pressed back against him; looping an arm around his shoulders and fisting his shirt roughly. Tongues met hotly; Naruto letting out a gasp as he was shepherded towards the couch.

"No!"

The exclamation caused the pair of them to jolt apart; staring over at the doorway. Itachi Uchiha was standing there in his pyjamas, looking absolutely livid.

So it was that Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha were roughly roused from sleep by the sound of aggressive yelling. Knowing that their sleep-in was over, they sighed and hoped that at least the jug was boiled for coffee.

"You had _sex_ in my bed!" Itachi shouted; in a rare display of anger.

"Not on _purpose_!" Sasuke yelled back defensively, "It was a heat of the moment and –"

" –And you couldn't tell the difference between our rooms?" he squawked, "Jeez, Sasuke! You finally tell him you love him and you can't take a moment to get to _your own bed_?"

" –_You knew_?" Naruto exclaimed hotly, "You _knew_ he liked me, and you didn't tell me? Even when I was terrified I'd be rejected –"

"That is _not_ the point here, Naruto!" Itachi snapped, "The point is that I am well aware of what sex between men involves –and I'm assuming that neither of you used protection?"

" –There wasn't…I wasn't thinking about that!" Sasuke shouted back; the three of them apparently oblivious to the fact that Mikoto and Fugaku had slunk past to the kitchen.

"Oh, but you had enough time to use my lube and _not_ the condoms?" his elder brother retorted snidely, "_In the same drawer, little brother_!"

"Why was the bottle so empty, _big brother_?" Sasuke shot back aggressively. Itachi turned a nasty shade of pink.

"_We are not discussing my sexual activities_!" he exclaimed.

"Then why are we discussing _ours_?" the younger Uchiha growled flatly.

"_Because you had messy, unprotected sex in my bed!_" Itachi snapped, "I'm going to have to _burn_ it now!"

"You're being melodramatic," Sasuke snorted.

"Oh? So you'd be completely okay if I brought Kisame here and fucked him on your bed?" he growled back.

" –Well for one thing, I don't think _you'd_ be doing the –" Sasuke found himself cuffed over the head by an annoyed Naruto.

"You're getting off topic!" Naruto snorted crossly, "…Itachi, _why_ didn't you tell me? It might've made me, I don't know; a little less terrified? And Sasuke; _seriously_ –you could've _called_…"

"Like I said; you started talking about what would happen when we got girlfriends, and I just thought that you only thought of me as a friend," Sasuke explained hotly.

"Well I did!" he sighed in exasperation, "But then I _realised_ –"

"So why didn't you put that in your letters?"

"…_Because I wanted to tell you face to face_!" he snorted, "…And I thought that you wouldn't come home, if you knew!" Itachi promptly knocked their heads together and they glared at him.

"You're both fucking morons," he sniffed crossly, "Sasuke; you were a brat and you should've come home for Christmas. It was childish to try and stay away just because you were denying feelings for Naruto. And Naruto…you should've just written to him. He might've come home."

"Oh, yeah, like you can really be giving advice –" Naruto squawked.

" –_You came to me for advice_," Itachi reminded him, "And wound up having sex with my little brother. Which, I by the way; _heard from the guest room_." Naruto flushed in embarrassment. "I think that gives me –"

" –Boys…boys; why are you yelling?" Kushina's voice suddenly inquired from the doorway, where both pairs of their parents were currently congregating and wondering what on earth all the fuss was about. The three boys looked over at their parents sheepishly, before glaring at each other.

"Itachi started it," Sasuke informed his mother.

" –Don't be a brat; I did _not_," Itachi growled darkly. "_You two _started it when –" Naruto immediately elbowed him in the gut; flushing even deeper when he realised that his mother and father were present. Kushina and Minato looked at the Uchihas for explanation as they were shepherded into the living room; bearing gifts.

"...You look tired, Mikoto," Kushina commented with a raised eyebrow.

"…We were…kept up late," she replied tactfully. Sasuke and Naruto traded undeniably guilty looks as they sat down on the couch; the blonde lowering himself down gingerly. His mother appeared to notice.

"_Oh_!" she exclaimed in understanding, "…So they, you know…finally…" she winked at her good friend.

"Apparently so," Mikoto replied with a low giggle, "…And apparently in Itachi's bed."

"Mother!" Sasuke and Itachi exclaimed hotly as Kushina cackled to herself; Minato and Fugaku exchanging weak glances. Kushina leapt over and wrapped her son in a tight bear hug; jostling him and making him cringe in pain.

"Oh; I'm so happy!" she exclaimed in delight, "I mean, I was going to kill Sasuke when he took my baby's innocence; but when I realised that you actually lo –"

" –My innoc –_mom, you knew_?" Naruto exploded in disbelief; his eyes wide in shock.

"Of course I did," she sniffed hotly, "Sweetie, in college I roomed with a gay man, and I'd already caught Itachi doing the 'walk of shame' home various times by that stage, so trust me when I say you didn't disguise your limp very well when you came home." He clamped his hands over his face in embarrassment.

"Mom, can we not do this right now?" he whimpered.

"…Will you boys stop fighting?" she asked lightly.

" –But Aunt Kushina…" Itachi complained; definitely not sounding his age.

"Itachi; behave yourself, and we'll continue to pretend that we don't know the real reason you made us buy that new rug when you were in high school," his mother pointed out.

"I don't know what you…" he began to say.

"Oh please, Itachi; we're your parents," Fugaku snorted, "You can't hide these sort of things from us. We know all about you and that delinquent."

"Delinquent?" Sasuke inquired curiously; looking over at his brother. He'd never seen Itachi turn such a horrified shade of green. "Do share, dearest big brother?" Itachi's lips were clamped shut and he was glaring accusingly at his parents. Mikoto just smiled at him charmingly.

" –I'll behave," he muttered; huffily sitting down on one of the couches. Sasuke and Naruto both looked at him quizzically; wondering what information his parents had on him.

"Oh good; now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can have a nice Christmas," Mikoto chuckled; the parents all taking a seat. "Now, Naruto; would you like some aspirin and a heat pack for your back?"

"…Please…" Naruto mumbled in embarrassment; hiding his face in his mother's hair. This was just too mortifying. His parents had known all along that he'd slept with Sasuke! Hell, now they knew that he'd slept with him last night!

"…Told you Sasuke would top," Mikoto whispered to her husband, swatting him gently as she headed to the kitchen. "Have a bit of faith in your son."

" –Well, I just assumed that he'd take after Itachi," Fugaku reminded her quietly, "Not to mention he always let Naruto boss him around…"

"_We can hear you_!" Sasuke and Itachi growled out in annoyance at the notion that their parents had actually discussed their son's sex lives. "And I do _not_ let this moron boss me around!" Sasuke sniffed flatly. Minato just ruffled his hair affectionately as he began handing out presents.

"Mom; why didn't you tell me you knew?" Naruto grumbled with a pout.

"I knew you'd tell us eventually," she assured him.

" –But I didn't…you just barged in…" he muttered.

" –Well, we knew that Sasuke was kind of a sensitive topic, so we didn't know how you'd react if we said that we knew," she shrugged and he let out a small grumble in response.

"Uncle Minato; give Sasuke the present from me," Itachi offered lightly, "I just _know _he's going to love it." Sasuke raised an eyebrow as a heavy present was placed in his lap. He had a terrible feeling about this. "Although I'll admit that I didn't think you'd need it just yet." Sasuke looked up at him with a glare.

"…It's lube, isn't it?"

"Why don't you open it when mother gets back, and find out?" Itachi's angelic voice wasn't fooling anyone. Sasuke just sighed heavily and looked over at Naruto, who was peeking at him through his hands as he snuggled up against his mother. Okay, so Itachi had effectively gotten them together, since he had been able to see what they clearly hadn't…and then they'd had sex in his bed…

…Sasuke had to admit to himself that he could perhaps allow his brother a small amount of amusement at his expense.

It was, after all, Christmas. And maybe if he behaved himself, mother would tell him this story about the rug.

* * *

"Um, Sasuke?" Naruto inquired nervously as the pair of them leisurely strolled down the concrete path through the park, (Sasuke had flat out refused to skip, though he had deigned to wear a Santa hat and sweater, which they had worn while opening presents. Sasuke's guess had been right; Itachi had been _thoughtful_ enough to gift him with a bottle of lube with a note saying 'have fun kids' on it. Sasuke hadn't been overly amused, but their parents had been. Naruto had gone rather red; especially when Kushina informed Sasuke that he better take good care of her baby boy, or she was going to take that entire bottle and jam it up, well...She painted a rather graphic image of what would happen if he ever left Naruto in the lurch again. Even Itachi had looked sympathetic.)

The afternoon was crisp and fresh, and there were children building snowmen on the grass. Carols could be heard from the band rotunda.

"Yeah?"

"…Can we hold hands?" Sasuke looked over at the blonde incredulously; as if he was seriously asking _permission_ to do such a thing. Rolling his eyes, he stuck out a hand and laced their fingers together. Naruto's expression brightened and he pressed a shy kiss against Sasuke's cheek. It was the raven's turn to blush.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" They could hear Sakura's voice and quickly spied her waving them over. The rest of their friends were waiting for them nearby; gathering as they did every year, to hear Hinata sing in the park on Christmas day.

"Merry Christmas, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed in delight as she beamed at him; cheeks flushed from the chilly air.

"Well aren't you two just the cutest things ever?" she exclaimed with a tiny squeal to her voice as she warmed embraced them both –much to Sasuke's annoyance. "So…you guys are like…_together_…now?"

"…Uhh…I guess…we are," Naruto replied with a quick look at Sasuke to see if he approved of this development. The raven just gave a 'tch' as a response and left it at that. There was no declination so Naruto grinned.

"Where are the others?" he inquired curiously as Deidara and Hidan wandered over; well, Hidan was drinking a coffee with his arm slung around the limping blonde's shoulders and Deidara was blushing furiously and protesting about it.

" –Kisame's gone to pick up Itachi, yeah," he informed them, glaring up at his sometimes-boyfriend. "Kiba's over at the rotunda with Ino, Temari and Shikamaru, and Gaara's 'distracting' Neji, yeah."

"_Distracting_?"

"Sucking face," Hidan explained and Naruto made an 'ohh' noise of understanding.

"By the way, Deidara; you're friends with Itachi, right?" he added curiously.

"Supposedly, yeah?"

"…Do you know anything about 'the real reason he made his parents get a new rug' in like, high school?"

Hidan promptly choked on his coffee and spluttered loudly. Deidara rolled his eyes as the platinum haired man spat a mouthful of his hot drink into the snow.

"Wouldn't have a clue, yeah," Deidara shrugged lightly, "…What about you, Hidan?" He was smirking.

"Nope. Don't know a fucking thing," he coughed; glaring down at his smug boyfriend. "Now uhh, are we going to fucking listen to Hinata or what?" Sasuke and Naruto just shrugged and followed them over to the rotunda where a choir was singing cheerfully. Sasuke, receiving a text, slipped his free hand into his pocket. It was from Itachi.

_Mother and father are out. Kisame and I will be…delayed. _

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror at what immediately jumped to mind.

_Mother fucker_, he text back as he glared mutinously at his phone.

_Relax, little brother. We're just getting coffee_. Sasuke made an annoyed noise. Itachi loved messing with him _far _too much. Annoyed at his big brother, but unable to help but feel a surge of affection for him for at least helping him to finally get Naruto, he found himself dragged over to the rotunda.

Naruto was unbelievably happy. He had Sasuke's hand in his own; and Shikamaru was standing nearby with Temari wrapped in his arms; a locket hanging around her neck –the locket that Naruto had helped Shikamaru pick out before she left, and which he had therefore never been able to give her; until now. All felt right in the world.

So he and Sasuke had been stupid morons for five years…but they'd decided to let that go. Everything was out in the open now, so they could move on from their mistakes. He couldn't help but grin. Trust the magic of Christmas to make such things possible. It had brought them together one year...and again this year.

"Oh…by the way…I forgot to get you a present," Sasuke admitted sheepishly; jolting him from his thoughts.

"It's okay," Naruto shrugged brightly; drinking in the beautiful feeling of Christmas around them. The band rotunda was decorated for the occasion, and half the crowd gathering was wearing either Santa hats or reindeer antlers.

"Really?"

"Really," he assured him with a small laugh. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

" –What'd you ask for?" he inquired curiously.

"What?"

"What did you ask 'Santa' for?" he elaborated, "The thing you asked for every year?" Naruto just chuckled to himself and scratched his chin awkwardly.

"Um…" he murmured, "You."

"Huh?"

"…I uhh…I asked Santa to bring me you," Naruto coughed. Sasuke stared at him. "Every year, I um…I asked for you, for Christmas…coz you were something special that I knew I wanted to keep forever."

"How unbearably cheesy…" Sasuke muttered and the blonde shoved him lightly; kissing him on the cheek again.

"…And uhh…five years ago…you finally asked for me too," he murmured; Sasuke staring at him, "And…that was why I decided to…give you…me…for Christmas…coz you wanted to keep me around..." He averted his eyes in embarrassment.

"…You gave your virginity to me as a Christmas present?" Sasuke inquired incredulously.

"…Uhh…yeah," he muttered.

" –Wait, _you looked at my wish list_?"

"…How else was I meant to know what to get you for Christmas?" Naruto complained, clutching his arm cheekily. Sasuke blushed and averted his eyes.

"…And you kept asking for me?" he inquired flatly. The blonde nodded brightly; kissing him once on the lips and loving the way his heart fluttered at the simple touch.

"You were my best friend," he admitted with a small laugh, pulling him over to see Hinata singing happily; her choir spreading Christmas joy for all to hear. "I wanted you to stay that way; so I wished for it every year; even when you were gone. And this year…the magic made my wish come true. You came home."

"Idiot," Sasuke murmured, rolling his eyes. Naruto chuckled to himself.

"…I love you…" he whispered softly in the raven's ear, and he saw Sasuke smirk slightly as he leaned in for a slow kiss. "And…having you stick around…having with you, in some way...that's all I ever wanted for Christmas."

* * *

**Slow zoom out. We see Kiba and Ino singing along with Hinata's choir. Shikamaru kisses Temari on the top of her head. As the camera moves back, we see Deidara stuff snow down Hidan's back and then trip and fall into the snow as he tries to run away, because his back's still sore. Kisame and Itachi are walking down the path with their coffees, to meet the others. Gaara's red hair is visible from behind a tree with Neji. And of course, Naruto dancing in the snow with the kids and dragging Sasuke to join. **

**Fade to credits. **

**Did someone say cheesy Christmas in the park ending? **

**Finally finished! And on time! A very Merry Christmas to all of you out there! I really appreciate you reading what I write! Happy holidays all; I'll still be here writing as long as you're out there, reading. Also; soz about my ridiculous author's notes; sometimes they seem to uhh, get long haha. *smiles***

**But yeah; there's my Xmas fic. END.  
Merry Christmas! **

**xx K**


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